The Frick Collection in New York, USA

The Frick Collection occupies Henry Clay Frick’s former residence at Fifth Avenue and East 70th Street in Manhattan. Its galleries combine European paintings, sculpture, furniture, ceramics and other decorative arts with the rooms for which many of the objects were originally acquired. After a major renovation, the museum reopened at its historic address on April 17, 2025, with restored first-floor galleries and public access to parts of the mansion’s second floor for the first time.

A Private Residence Designed Around an Art Collection

Industrialist and collector Henry Clay Frick commissioned the New York residence from Thomas Hastings of Carrère and Hastings. Construction began in 1913, and the Frick family moved into the limestone mansion in 1914. Its design reflected Frick’s plans for both a family home and a setting for his growing collection of European art.

Frick intended the house and collection eventually to become publicly accessible. When he died in 1919, his will left the residence, its furnishings and the works of art in it to become The Frick Collection, subject to his wife Adelaide’s use of the house during her lifetime. He also provided a $15 million endowment for the institution.

After Adelaide Frick died in 1931, architect John Russell Pope adapted and enlarged the residence for museum use. His work included the Oval Room, East Gallery, new public spaces and the enclosed Garden Court. The museum opened to visitors in December 1935.

What Is in The Frick Collection?

The permanent collection contains approximately 1,800 works, and less than half came from Henry Clay Frick’s original bequest. Later purchases and gifts expanded the holdings beyond the group of works that Frick assembled during his lifetime.

Paintings remain among the museum’s best-known holdings, but the collection also includes sculpture, furniture, ceramics, works on paper, textiles, clocks, medals and enamels. The museum’s European art spans several centuries, with particularly strong holdings in Old Master painting and decorative arts.

The Frick owns three paintings by Johannes Vermeer: Officer and Laughing Girl, Girl Interrupted at Her Music and Mistress and Maid. Only a small number of paintings are generally accepted as works by Vermeer, making the presence of three in one collection notable.

Other familiar works include Giovanni Bellini’s St. Francis in the Desert, Hans Holbein the Younger’s Sir Thomas More, Rembrandt’s 1658 Self-Portrait and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres’s portrait of Louise, later Comtesse d’Haussonville. Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s The Progress of Love is closely associated with the Fragonard Room, where paintings and interior decoration form a single ensemble.

The character of the galleries differs from that of a museum organized mainly as a sequence of neutral exhibition rooms. Paintings, furniture, sculpture and decorative objects are often encountered together within furnished historic interiors. Some arrangements also preserve relationships established during Frick’s lifetime.

The 2025 Renovation and the Second-Floor Galleries

The museum’s 2025 reopening followed a multi-year renovation and enhancement designed by Selldorf Architects, with Beyer Blinder Belle serving as executive architect. The work restored historic spaces, updated building systems, improved accessibility and created new areas for exhibitions, education and public programs.

One of the clearest changes for visitors is access to the mansion’s second floor. These rooms were originally private living quarters for the Frick family and later served as administrative offices. A suite of former domestic rooms has now been restored for the display of smaller paintings, sculpture and decorative objects, including works that were previously shown less frequently.

The Boucher Room was returned to the second-floor position it occupied during the Frick family’s residence. The renovation also introduced dedicated special-exhibition galleries, education facilities and the 220-seat Stephen A. Schwarzman Auditorium while preserving the established character of the principal first-floor rooms.

The Frick Art Research Library

The museum is closely connected with the Frick Art Research Library, located at 10 East 71st Street. Henry Clay Frick’s daughter, Helen Clay Frick, founded the library in 1920. It developed into an art-history research center serving scholars, students and members of the public.

The present library building was designed by John Russell Pope and opened in 1935 beside the museum. Its research collections and the museum’s art holdings operate as related branches of the same institution, although visiting the research library follows separate access procedures.

Admission, Hours and Ticket Information

The Frick is normally open from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday through Sunday and is closed on Tuesday. Holiday schedules and special evening programs can alter regular access, so the museum’s official visitor information should be checked before a planned visit.

Current general admission is $30 for adults, $22 for visitors age 65 and older, $22 for visitors with disabilities and $17 for students with identification. Admission is free for youth ages 10–18 and for museum members. Children younger than 10 are not admitted to the museum.

Pay-what-you-wish admission is offered on Wednesdays from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. Online reservations for this period require a minimum contribution of $5 per ticket to guarantee entry; a limited number of onsite tickets allowing other contribution amounts may also be offered. General admission is handled through timed tickets, and advance reservations are recommended. Tickets include access to current special exhibitions.

What to Know Inside the Galleries

The Frick deliberately does not place conventional wall labels beside works throughout its historic galleries. Visitors can instead use the museum’s free mobile guide on Bloomberg Connects, which provides information and audio commentary connected to numbered works, rooms and displays.

Photography and video are not permitted inside the galleries. Personal still photography without flash is allowed in the Garden Court and certain other public areas outside the galleries. Food, beverages and water bottles are also prohibited in gallery spaces unless medically necessary.

Bags are inspected at entry. Items larger than 14 × 6 × 12.5 inches (35.6 × 15.2 × 31.8 centimeters) must be checked, and luggage cannot be accepted. Backpacks that meet the permitted size must either be checked or worn on the front while inside the galleries. Coats must be worn or left at the coat check rather than carried through the museum.

All public areas are wheelchair accessible. Because the second-floor galleries occupy restored historic rooms, the museum notes that these spaces accommodate standard manual wheelchairs but may not be suitable for every wheelchair type. A care partner accompanying a visitor with a disability receives free admission.

The museum entrance is at 1 East 70th Street, between Fifth and Madison Avenues beside Central Park. The closest subway stop identified by the museum is the 6 train at 68th Street and Lexington Avenue; the 6 at 68th Street and the Q at 72nd Street and Second Avenue are listed as convenient ADA-accessible subway stations.