PHOTOS: Inside New York’s newest cultural landmark | Hindustan Times
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PHOTOS: Inside New York’s newest cultural landmark

Updated On Mar 05, 2021 03:34 PM IST

For the last 100 years, stepping into the exquisitely preserved rooms of the Frick Collection’s mansion on New York’s Fifth Avenue was like entering a gilded time capsule. It was both the draw of the museum, which is largely unchanged since it opened in 1935, and a flaw: Taken all at once, many of the spectacular bronzes, delicate Sèvres porcelain, and even masterpieces by Goya and Rembrandt drifted uncomfortably close to decoration, the collection’s many superlative parts subsumed into a larger, sumptuous whole. “That’s the point of a house [museum],” says the Frick’s deputy director and chief curator Xavier Salomon. “It’s wonderful in one way, and then in other ways it’s a constraint.” For the next two years, though, that constraint has been lifted while the mansion is expanded. During that time, the collection has moved a few blocks away into the former Whitney Museum of American Art’s building on Madison Avenue and 75th St. (When the Whitney moved downtown it leased the space to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which dubbed it the Met Breuer; the Met then broke its lease early as a result of budget constraints.) Whereas the Frick normally exhibits 470 objects, in the new space, dubbed the Frick Madison, just 300 will be on view. And in contrast to the Frick’s plush interiors, the walls of its temporary home have just four shades of gray. Gone, in other words, are any distractions from the art.

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Jean-Honore Fragonard's Progress of Love paintings next to a bust sculpture at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Mar 05, 2021 03:34 PM IST

Jean-Honore Fragonard's Progress of Love paintings next to a bust sculpture at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg)

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An early Netherlandish painting from 1440 to 1570, right, past the "Barbet Angel" cast in 1475 by Jean Barbet at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Mar 05, 2021 03:34 PM IST

An early Netherlandish painting from 1440 to 1570, right, past the "Barbet Angel" cast in 1475 by Jean Barbet at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg)

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European and Asian porcelain from 1500 to 1900 at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Mar 05, 2021 03:34 PM IST

European and Asian porcelain from 1500 to 1900 at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg)

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Early Italian religious paintings ranging from 1280 to 1470 at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Mar 05, 2021 03:34 PM IST

Early Italian religious paintings ranging from 1280 to 1470 at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg)

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Eighteenth-century French busts on either side of the so-called Clodion clock at the entrance to the fourth-floor galleries at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021.(Bloomberg) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Mar 05, 2021 03:34 PM IST

Eighteenth-century French busts on either side of the so-called Clodion clock at the entrance to the fourth-floor galleries at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021.(Bloomberg)

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Porcelain by Du Paquier, Meissen, and from Qing Dynasty artists from the 18th century at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Mar 05, 2021 03:34 PM IST

Porcelain by Du Paquier, Meissen, and from Qing Dynasty artists from the 18th century at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg)

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The "Vase Japon" by Sevres from 1744 at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Mar 05, 2021 03:34 PM IST

The "Vase Japon" by Sevres from 1744 at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg)

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An 18th century French clock at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Mar 05, 2021 03:34 PM IST

An 18th century French clock at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg)

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Grand British Portraiture ranging from 1740 to 1790 at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. The Frick Madison is designed as a one-way tour through the collection (visitors move counterclockwise), as opposed to a more free-flowing space where people can wander forward and back. As a result, the curatorial staff paid close attention to transitions from room to room, carefully staging every view. (Bloomberg) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Mar 05, 2021 03:34 PM IST

Grand British Portraiture ranging from 1740 to 1790 at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. The Frick Madison is designed as a one-way tour through the collection (visitors move counterclockwise), as opposed to a more free-flowing space where people can wander forward and back. As a result, the curatorial staff paid close attention to transitions from room to room, carefully staging every view. (Bloomberg)

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Italian Renaissance paintings from 1510 to 1570 at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Mar 05, 2021 03:34 PM IST

Italian Renaissance paintings from 1510 to 1570 at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg)

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European and Asian porcelain from 1500 to 1900 at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Mar 05, 2021 03:34 PM IST

European and Asian porcelain from 1500 to 1900 at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg)

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European and Asian porcelain from 1500 to 1900 at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Mar 05, 2021 03:34 PM IST

European and Asian porcelain from 1500 to 1900 at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg)

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17th century Indian carpets at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Mar 05, 2021 03:34 PM IST

17th century Indian carpets at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg)

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15th century Italian bronzes at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Mar 05, 2021 03:34 PM IST

15th century Italian bronzes at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg)

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Early Italian religious paintings from 1280-1470 on either side of the entrance to a room of silk and pashmina Indian carpets from 1630-1650 at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Mar 05, 2021 03:34 PM IST

Early Italian religious paintings from 1280-1470 on either side of the entrance to a room of silk and pashmina Indian carpets from 1630-1650 at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg)

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Paintings by James McNeill Whistler at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Mar 05, 2021 03:34 PM IST

Paintings by James McNeill Whistler at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg)

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Jean-Honore Fragonard's Progress of Love paintings at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Mar 05, 2021 03:34 PM IST

Jean-Honore Fragonard's Progress of Love paintings at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg)

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A portrait of Nicolaes Ruts by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, left, at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Mar 05, 2021 03:34 PM IST

A portrait of Nicolaes Ruts by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, left, at the Frick Collection's new museum location on Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Bloomberg)

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