RENOVATION AND ENHANCEMENT THE MUSEUM THE LIBRARY
It was Henry Clay Frick's (1849–1919) intention that his art collection and home at 1 East 70th Street be opened as a museum following his wife's death. After Adelaide Howard Childs Frick (1859–1931) died in October 1931, the mansion, built in 1913–14 by Thomas Hastings (1860–1929), of Carrère and Hastings, underwent further construction to transform it into a space suitable for a public institution. Under the direction of The Frick Collection's Organizing Director, Frederick Mortimer Clapp, construction and renovation at the Collection began. The Trustees commissioned John Russell Pope to make additions to the original house, including two galleries (the Oval Room and East Gallery), a combination lecture hall and music room, and the enclosed Garden Court. In December 1935, The Frick Collection opened to the public. In 1977, a new Reception Hall was designed by Harry van Dyke, John Barrington Bayley, and G. Frederick Poehler. Two additional galleries were opened on the lower level of the pavilion to house temporary exhibitions. Finally, in December of 2011 the Portico was enclosed to form the new Portico Gallery, which houses sculpture and decorative arts.