Over the course of his life, Alexis Gregory (1936–2020) built an exceptional collection of decorative arts. He bought his first bronze at the age of eighteen and expanded his collection in the 1980s by exchanging an Impressionist painting he had inherited from his parents for an assortment of bronzes, sculptures, and Limoges enamels. His collection echoes, in many ways, the Kunstkammers (cabinets of curiosities) created by Renaissance princes for the display of precious objects, exotic natural specimens, and other curiosities.
Born in Zurich, Gregory visited the Frick frequently as a child. He founded the celebrated Vendome Press, as well as the Vendome Prize, an internationally recognized piano prize. His generous and important gift to the Frick complements the museum’s commitment to the display of European decorative arts and builds on a tradition begun more than a century ago when the museum’s founder, Henry Clay Frick, acquired his first pieces of European decorative arts during a trip to Paris.
This exhibition is generously funded by the Alexis Gregory Foundation.