Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s Progress of Love is one of
the great painted ensembles of French eighteenthcentury art and is considered to be the artist’s
masterpiece. For more than seventy-five years, the
panels have been a highlight of The Frick Collection.
Colin B. Bailey’s keenly awaited and beautifully
illustrated book published in September by the
museum in association with D. Giles Limited provides
an invaluable and engaging resource on the sequence
and meaning of the panels in the series. It explores
the history of the work from its conception in France
to its rediscovery by two great American collectors
more than one hundred years later and tells the
fascinating story of how the group of canvasesfound a
permanent home in the New York City mansion of Henry Clay Frick, where the museum’s visitors
enjoy them today. The tale, however, has resonance and appeal beyond the walls of the institution. A
study of these beautiful panels offers a window into the complex world of art and architectural tastemakers and patronage in eighteenth-century France, as well as the history of collecting in Europe and
America during the two centuries that followed their creation. Fragonard’s Progress of Love at The
Frick Collection was written by Bailey, the Frick’s Associate Director and Peter Jay Sharp Curator.
In celebration of the early September release of the book, the Frick will host a free public lecture and
book-signing.