purdy's blog

What happens to a work of art when it is rejected by its patron? Explore an interactive map to discover how the canvases in Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s Progress of Love series were scorned by a royal mistress, rolled up for twenty years in the Louvre, and more than tripled in number on their way from eighteenth-century France to the fourth floor of Frick Madison.

Surprising connections are waiting to be discovered at Frick Madison. In the debut post of “Middle Ground,” explore unexpected links between Giovanni Bellini’s St. Francis in the Desert and Marcel Breuer’s iconic trapezoidal window, a transcendent juxtaposition on the third floor of the museum’s temporary home.

The Frick Art Reference Library’s collection is wide ranging—and constantly evolving. Mary Seem, Acquisitions Lead, offers a sample of the recent book acquisitions of the past year, which enrich and expand on a variety of fascinating topics represented in the library’s holdings.

The journey of an artwork is rarely a smooth one, and what we know about the ownership history of Holbein’s Sir Thomas More (1527) is notable for its gaps. Explore an interactive map tracing the fragmentary path of this panel from Tudor England to the second floor of Frick Madison.

Celebrate Halloween with a list of recommended reads from the Frick Art Reference Library! Available for consultation by appointment in the library’s reading room, these books explore scholarship on spooky themes associated with the holiday, from gothic horror to Surrealism, witches, and the supernatural.

The Camposanto complex in Pisa, Italy, housed some of the most significant fresco paintings from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries—until their near destruction during World War II. The Frick Art Reference Library’s Photoarchive contains images from before the damage and prior to extensive restoration efforts, providing a window into a crucial period in the site’s long history.

The Frick Art Reference Library offers a recommended reading list from its collection in celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month. The selected titles explore a wide array of contributions by Hispanic and Latinx artists, collectors, and scholars, vital fixtures in the history of the art in the United States.

An image held in the Frick’s Photoarchive shows a statue of King Louis XII of France standing in regal bearing. At the Louvre today, you’ll find the sculpture displayed in three separate pieces. In this post, learn about the moment captured in the Photoarchive and its place in the object’s turbulent physical history.

Emma Claire Marvin, a spring/summer 2021 practicum student and content consultant in the Frick Art Reference Library, explains her work on the library’s ongoing Wikidata project. The project enhances the online discoverability of artists represented in the Photoarchive, and Emma Claire describes her research that contributed to the creation of a brand-new Wikidata “item” for lesser-known French artist Marie Perrier (1864–1941).

Happy Pride Month from the Frick Art Reference Library! Celebrate by discovering a selection of recommended reads (both hardcover titles and freely accessible e-books) that spotlight LGBTQ+ art, artists, and history.