Blogs

Celebrating one hundred years of the Frick Art Reference Library, Suz Massen, Associate Chief Librarian for Access, explores a selection from the library’s over 100,000 auction catalogs. These materials are invaluable for researchers piecing together the history of an object or collection.

Learn more about our highly acclaimed exhibition Barkley L. Hendricks: Portraits at the Frick with an excerpt from Curator Aimee Ng’s introductory essay from the show’s catalogue.

In our second installment of Staff Picks, Gabriella Lacza, Imaging Assistant, selects eight of her favorite items from the Frick Art Reference Library’s collections. Get to know Gabriella and her recommended reading list—featuring books on Surrealism, stains, sculpture, and more.

In celebration of National Native American Heritage Month this November, the Frick Art Reference Library offers a recommended reading list of books that pay tribute to the ample contributions Native Americans have made to the rich history of this country and its art, from centuries ago through to the present day.

In celebration of our acclaimed special exhibition Barkley L. Hendricks: Portraits at the Frick, Joey Vincennie, Reference Lead, presents a recommended reading list from the collection of the Frick Art Reference Library exploring how artists have crafted portraits throughout history.

Read reflections from a group of our summer interns, from their favorite activities and biggest takeaways to the music they most associate with the Frick.

Discover the joint project of the Frick Art Reference Library’s summer 2023 interns. In anticipation of the library becoming the repository for the Archives of American Art’s extensive microfilm collection, the interns examined the existing presence of materials on American art in the library’s collections. In this post, they each present a fascinating aspect of their findings.

Get to know the friendly faces of the Frick Art Reference Library in our new series, Staff Picks! In the first installment, Hannah Fountain, Discovery Lead, shares a selection of her favorite items from the library’s collection—including books on modernism, craft, and a Grant Wood catalogue with a corn-cob chandelier. Plus, discover Hannah’s answers to our rapid-fire Q&A.

Sumitra Duncan, Web Archiving Lead, explores technology at the Frick Art Reference Library, as part of our ongoing celebration of its hundredth anniversary. Technological innovations have been embraced since the library’s founding, a commitment that remains a vital part of its mission in the present day. In this post, we consider three examples: the telautograph, early art photography trips and a recent map charting the expeditions, and web archiving efforts.

On the occasion of the return of The Frick Collection’s three paintings by Johannes Vermeer to their display at Frick Madison, Christopher Snow Hopkins, Associate Editor, reflects on the experience of viewing the canvases in the Rijksmuseum’s monumental Vermeer exhibition this year.