Introduction

Checklist of Works

A Passion for Drawings: Charles Ryskamp's Bequest to The Frick Collection
February 14 through April 8, 2012

Introduction

	Cecil Beaton (1904–1980), Portrait of Charles Ryskamp, 1969, gelatin silver print, Collection of Thomas L. Lloyd, Courtesy of the Cecil Beaton Studio Archive at Sotheby’s

This winter and spring The Frick Collection will celebrate the generosity and discerning taste of former Director Charles A. Ryskamp (1928–2010) with an exhibition of works on paper from his bequest. This generous gift transforms the museum's holdings in drawings, enlarging them by nearly a third, while complementing the permanent collection's focus on the landscape and figural subjects favored by Henry Clay Frick. The works will be exhibited for the first time at the Frick in the Cabinet, a space created by Dr. Ryskamp during his tenure as Director from 1987 to 1997 and intended especially for the display of works on paper.

Charles Ryskamp spent more than fifty years assembling an extraordinary personal trove of European drawings. A former professor at Princeton University with an expertise in late neoclassical and Romantic English literature, Dr. Ryskamp was initially attracted to British drawings of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. His collection grew to include examples from a host of periods and schools, with particular strengths in French, German, Dutch, and Danish sheets. He sought drawings that were pleasing to the eye, concentrating on figural works, landscapes, and natural studies, as well as sheets that demonstrated a mastery of technique.

This exhibition presents ten drawings from Dr. Ryskamp's collection, given as a bequest to the Frick following his death at the age of eighty-one. The works were selected by Director Emerita Anne L. Poulet, Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Colin B. Bailey, and Senior Curator Susan Grace Galassi. Many other sheets from his collection were donated to The Morgan Library & Museum, where Dr. Ryskamp served as director from 1969 to 1987; others were auctioned at Sotheby's for the benefit of Princeton University.

	Pierre-Joseph Redouté, (1759–1840), Plum Branches Intertwined, 1802–4, watercolor on vellum, 12 1/2 x 10 1/3 inches, The Frick Collection, bequest of Charles A. Ryskamp, 2010; photo: Michael Bodycomb

As a scholar and museum professional, Dr. Ryskamp equated the collecting of art with the acquisition of knowledge. The works in his bequest pay tribute to his vibrant intellect, discerning taste, and generous spirit.

The exhibition was organized by Katie L. Steiner and Nicholas Wise, Curatorial Assistants, The Frick Collection.