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acquired paintings through domestic and European galleries such as Arthur Tooth & Sons, L. Crist Delmonico,
The Ehrich Galleries, and Durand-Ruel & Sons. Frick also occasionally acquired works through individuals,
including Virginia P. Bacon, Alice Creelman, and Roger Fry.
Henry Clay Frick's acquisitions were carefully considered, and he often kept pictures on approval in his home for
months before deciding whether to purchase or return them. In certain instances, though, works of art were
bought sight unseen, or brought over from Europe at his expense but not purchased. As Frick's collection grew
and his taste evolved, he sometimes returned works for credit towards another painting, and pictures were
also sometimes acquired with the option to return them for full credit within a given period of time. In some
cases, he actively sought the opinions of art experts such as Roger Fry, Carel F. de Wild, and Charles Henry
Hart before consenting to an acquisition.
Although Frick continued to acquire works of art until his death in 1919 (his last purchase was Vermeer's
Mistress and Maid), he quietly established plans to open his collection to the public after his death as early as
1915. In his will, dated 24 June 1915, Frick bequeathed his New York City residence, including furnishings, art,
and decorative objects, as a museum "for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a gallery of art…and
encouraging and developing the study of the fine arts, and of advancing the general knowledge of kindred
subjects." The museum was endowed with funds for maintenance, building alterations, and acquisitions of art.
Henry Clay Frick's widow continued to live at the residence until her death in 1931. At that time, the building
was extensively renovated, and opened to the public as The Frick Collection in December 1935.
Sources consulted:
Grier, H.D.M. "Henry Clay Frick, Art Collector," in The Frick Collection: An Illustrated Catalogue, Vol. 1, Paintings.
New York: The Frick Collection; [Princeton, N.J.]: Distributed by Princeton University Press, 1968.
Grier, H.D.M. Introduction to Masterpieces of The Frick Collection, by Edgar Munhall. New York: Frick Collection,
1970.
Ryskamp, Charles, et al. Art in the Frick Collection: Paintings, Sculpture, Decorative Arts. New York: Harry N.
Abrams in association with the Frick Collection, 1996.
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SCOPE AND CONTENT
Henry Clay Frick's Art Files, 1881-1925 and undated, consist of loose correspondence, one letterpress book,
invoices, vouchers, canceled checks, inventories, lists, notes, and printed material pertaining to the selection,
purchase, and disposition of works of art in Frick’s collection. These papers also document requests to visit the
galleries at One East 70th Street during Frick’s lifetime, and works exhibited at institutions such as the
Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. A small number of items date from after
Henry Clay Frick’s death, and largely pertain to claims against the Frick Estate. These files do not represent a
complete record of Frick’s art collecting activities (see Related Material note above).
Materials are arranged in six subseries: I. Purchases, II. Inventories and Lists, III. Catalogs and Works
Exhibited, IV. Correspondence, V. Works Not Purchased, and VI. Sale Catalogs and Miscellanea. Files are
arranged chronologically within each subseries.
The bulk of these files are contained in the first subseries, Purchases. The amount of documentation varies
greatly from one file to another, but consists largely of correspondence with dealers, invoices, canceled checks,
and vouchers. Many files contain red expanding wallet envelopes with a custom-printed form on the front
entitled "H.C. Frick: Paintings, Etc." These envelopes were used by Henry Clay Frick’s office staff to house
documents pertaining to his acquisitions, and on each one is noted the date of purchase, title, and artist, as
well as names of correspondents, artists, other paintings mentioned in the file, the location of related material,
and general remarks. These are referred to in the container list below as “red envelopes.” It is not unusual for
a file to contain only a red envelope, or purely transactional papers such as receipts and vouchers.
The next two subseries, Inventories and Lists, and Catalogs and Works Exhibited, also pertain to purchased
works, but provide snapshots of Frick’s collection at various periods in time. Many of the inventories and lists
contained here predate the construction of One East 70th Street, and seem to have been prepared for
bookkeeping purposes. They document paintings, and to a lesser extent furniture, at Frick’s other residences,
specifically “Clayton” in Pittsburgh, “Eagle Rock” in Prides Crossing, Mass., and the Vanderbilt mansion located
at 640 Fifth Avenue in New York. The latter subseries, Catalogs and Works Exhibited, contains both published
and unpublished descriptions of Frick’s collection, and also provides some insight into the extent to which Frick
allowed the public to view his collection. More information about public viewing of his gallery is contained in
Subseries IV, Correspondence, which consists mostly of inquiries from individuals and groups who wished to
see the collection when it was still part of a private home. This subseries also contains a letterpress book of
Frick’s replies on various matters related to art collecting and the administration of his collection.
Correspondents in the letterbook include Charles Carstairs of the firm M. Knoedler & Co., Henry B. Culver, Alice
Creelman, Roger Fry, Martin Gardiner Lane, Ricardo de Madrazo, and H. Silva White.
The last two subseries, Works Not Purchased, and Sale Catalogs and Miscellanea, mostly concern objects that
never entered Frick’s collection, although some works received more serious consideration than others. Such is
the case with Holbein’s Erasmus von Rotterdam and Goya’s Tirana, the files of which both contain substantially
more documentation than those for works offered to Frick and directly refused. The sale catalogs contained
here largely describe decorative arts objects and works on paper. With the exception of George B. Warren’s
collection of miniature porcelains, which was purchased by Frick and displayed at his Massachusetts home, it
has not been confirmed whether or not Frick purchased items from the other catalogs.
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ARRANGEMENT
Materials are arranged in six subseries:
I. Purchases, 1881-1921, undated
II. Inventories and Lists, 1881-1925
III. Catalogs and Works Exhibited, 1906-[1925]
IV. Correspondence, 1895-1919, undated
V. Works Not Purchased, 1897, 1911-1919