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

Angelo Magnanti (1879–1969)
Music Room 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

Originally proposed for the second floor of the mansion, the auditorium (known today as the Music Room) was constructed at the end on the museum’s main floor to allow easy access from both the Collection and the Library. The Music Room’s flattened domed ceiling and circular skylight indicate Pope’s intention that it could serve as both a lecture hall and an art gallery. Magnanti’s bold wall colors and ornately decorated doors as depicted in this drawing were later subdued, in keeping with the trustees’ desire for a more muted color palette and less elaborate ornamentation. Clapp praised Magnanti’s decorative designs and declared that his vision was, “Fresh in its treatment, delicate in its color harmonies, restrained and yet rich in its use of gilding and complementary colors.”

The Music Room, 1935 (photo: The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Archives)

The Music Room, 2001