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For Today's post, Haley, the newest addition to the Carolina George team blogs about the Frick...enjoy!

New York is home to hundreds of museums. For any lover of history or the fine arts, this is really something to boast about. Recently I explored the Frick Collection for the first time. This had been on my to do list from the moment I learned the building was the home of the late Henry Clay Frick, much of which has been preserved from the turn of the century. Henry’s home, gardens and private art collection was opened to the public as the Frick Collection in late 1935. The collection is small compared to some of the other mammoth museums in the city but no less impressive with works by old masters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Ingres, Hans Holbein, El Greco as well as an entire room of Fragonard. All of these are on permanent display.

Garden at the Frick Museum

The Rehearsal - Edgar Degas

Out of all this, perhaps the most exciting thing for me about the Frick home was the atrium. It was a beautiful architectural moment added in the early 1930s by John Russell Pope upon which other rooms of the house radiate. This blending of outdoor and indoor space becomes the focal point of the museum. As magnificent as it is, the skylight in the atrium is not the only impressive skylight in the house. The music room as well as west gallery also boast striking skylights.

Atrium

Music Room

West Gallery

Amid these grandiose moments, it's also nice to see the smaller rooms still kept as they would have been when Frick resided in the home.

Henry's private library

Fragonard Room

Of the original home, only the main floor and a small area of the downstairs are consistently available for viewing. There is an impressive private bowling alley in the basement. Unfortunately it is not open for public viewing. However, the lovely Frick Art Reference Library is available to the public.

Bowling Alley

Art Reference Library