From November 5, 2014, through February 1, 2015, the Frick presented ten masterpieces of painting from the Scottish National Gallery. The museum, one of the finest in the world, is distinguished for its holdings of works by the greatest masters of Western art and for its comprehensive collection of Scottish art. The exhibition featured paintings from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries that invite illuminating comparisons to the Frick's permanent collection. Highlights included Botticelli's The Virgin Adoring the Sleeping Christ Child, which had never been exhibited in the United States, and Sargent's arresting portrait Lady Agnew of Lochnaw.
In 2015, the ten works traveled with an additional forty-five to the de Young, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, and the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. This exhibition, Botticelli to Braque: Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland, upon the collections of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, the two institutions that, along with the Scottish National Gallery, comprise the National Galleries of Scotland.
The exhibition was coordinated for The Frick Collection by Senior Curator Susan Grace Galassi and was accompanied by a series of public programs and events. A fully illustrated catalogue features an introductory essay by Scottish National Gallery Director Michael Clarke and entries by its curators.
About the Scottish National Gallery
The Scottish National Gallery, founded in 1850, is widely regarded as one of the finest museums in the world, distinguished both for the quality and for the significance of its holdings. Its collection ranges from the fourteenth to early twentieth century and includes paintings, prints, drawings, and sculpture.
U.S. Tour Venue Information
The Frick Collection, New York (10 paintings)
November 5, 2014, through February 1, 2015
Masterpieces from the Scottish National Gallery
de Young, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (55 paintings)
March 7, 2015, through May 31, 2015
Botticelli to Braque: Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth (55 paintings)
June 28, 2015, through September 20, 2015
Botticelli to Braque: Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland
Support for the presentation in New York was generously provided by Sir Angus and Lady Grossart, The Christian Humann Foundation, Peter and Gail Goltra, †Walter and †Vera Eberstadt, Fiduciary Trust Company International, and anonymous gifts in memory of Melvin R. Seiden and Charles Ryskamp.
The exhibition is also supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Left: Sandro Botticelli, The Virgin Adoring the Sleeping Christ Child, ca. 1485. Tempera, oil, and gold on canvas, 48 x 31 3/4 in. Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh © Trustees of the National Galleries of Scotland
Right: John Singer Sargent, Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, 1892. Oil on canvas, 49 1/2 x 39 1/2 in. Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh © Trustees of the National Galleries of Scotland