1999

Exhibitions presented at The Frick Collection during 1999.

Past Exhibition: Velázquez

Painting of portrait of king philip IV of Spain dressed in the silver-and-rose costume holding staff and broad-brimmed black hat
Velázquez in New York Museums
November 16, 1999 to January 30, 2000

To mark the four-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599–1660), The Frick Collection brought together for the first time six of the Spanish master’s portraits belonging to public collections in New York.

Past Exhibition: Henry Clay Frick as a Collector of Drawings

pastel drawing of 18th century woman wearing black and white dress seated in front of trees with powdered hair
Henry Clay Frick as a Collector of Drawings
December 14, 1999 to January 30, 2000

Marking the 150th Anniversary of the birthday of founder Henry Clay Frick (1849–1919), this small exhibition drew attention to a lesser-known aspect of the broad collecting interests of the museum's founder. Ten drawings that Mr. Frick acquired between 1913 and 1916 — including examples in various media by Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, Thomas Gainsborough, Daniel Gardner, and James McNeill Whistler — were on view in the Cabinet Gallery in the museum's first floor, along with related documents and photographs. Though Mr.

Past Exhibition: Constable's Salisbury Cathedral

painting of Salisbury Cathedral with trees, cows, and figures in the foreground
Constable's Salisbury Cathedral: Two Versions Reunited
September 21, 1999 to December 31, 1999

Between 1820 and 1826, John Constable (1776–1837) executed three oil sketches and three finished paintings depicting Salisbury Cathedral from the south side, rising over the green expanse of the bishop's grounds. All are linked to a commission of 1822 from Constable's friend and patron Bishop John Fisher, who asked him to develop one of the sketches into a finished work. Instead, Constable set out afresh, producing a canvas for the bishop that he exhibited to critical acclaim at the Royal Academy in 1823.

Past Exhibition: Drouais' Portrait of Madame de Pompadour

portrait of Madame de Pompadour embroidering wearing a floral gown, a little black dog perched on a chair is resting is front paws on her embroidery frame.
Drouais' Portrait of Madame de Pompadour from The National Gallery, London
January 26, 1999 to May 13, 1999

On view for the first time in the United States, the celebrated full-length portrait of Madame de Pompadour by the French artist François-Hubert Drouais (1727–75) was presented at New York's Frick Collection. Regarded as one of the greatest and most popular treasures at the National Gallery in London, the portrait was the last one painted of the Marquise de Pompadour, the influential mistress of French King Louis XV.

Past Exhibition: French and English Drawings from the National Gallery of Canada

French and English Drawings of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries from the National Gallery of Canada
February 9, 1999 to April 25, 1999

This exhibition of sixty-seven drawings from the collection of the National Gallery of Canada was organized by that museum in collaboration with The Frick Collection. It offered a rich sampling of the treasures assembled by the Department of Prints and Drawings since its founding in 1921, including works by Boucher and Degas acquired only last year. On the English side, artists represented include Bonington, Constable, Flaxman, Hogarth, Palmer, and Turner; among the French artists are Courbet, David, Delacroix, Fragonard, Greuze, Redon, and Watteau.

Past Exhibition: Figurative Invention

brown ink drawing of seated satyr with urn encountering a goat
Figurative Invention: Drawings from the Permanent Collection
December 22, 1998 to January 3, 1999

This exhibition presented drawings from the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries that displayed several modes of depicting figures. Some were drawings of figures or costumes copied from life and intended as preparatory studies for painted compositions. Others were individual or grouped figures that spring from the artist's imagination or are based on his observation of the world around him. Whether compositional studies or finished works of art, all the drawings focused on the figure as a means of exploring form, narrative, or individual spirit.