From Mansion to Museum: The Frick Collection Celebrates
Seventy-Five Years
On view from June 22 through September 5, 2010

Angelo Magnanti (1879–1969)
East Gallery of The Frick Collection, 1935
Elevation drawing; graphite, colored pencils, watercolor,
and gold leaf on Strathmore paper
The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Archives

Enthusiastic about the seamless integration of old and new spaces in the Frick museum, The New York Times art critic Edward Alden Jewell wrote on December 15, 1935: “Standing at the far end of the East Gallery, one enjoys a vista that stretches, through arched doorways, clear to the western [Fifth Avenue] side of the house; a vista embracing in its dignified span the Oval Room, the long West Gallery and the little room beyond. . . . a vista that, besides, very cunningly unites old and new, creating an effect of architectural unity.” Classical elements such as the arched portal with its elegant keystone and the fluted Ionic pilasters supporting a graceful entablature — all specified in the drawing by Magnanti — reflect decorative details in the original mansion. The trustees requested a skylight, like that partially depicted at the top of this drawing, to ensure that the works displayed in this gallery be shown with natural light and to their best advantage.

The East Gallery, 1935 (photo: The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Archives)

The East Gallery, 2010 (photo: Michael Bodycomb, The Frick Collection)