Thursday 3 July – Uptown Manhattan & the Frick Collection

A few Americans whom we've chatted to along the way have recommended an art museum/gallery called “The Frick Collection”, situated in “uptown” Manhattan. It attracts 250,000 – 300,000 visitors a year, and ranks 3^rd amongst 843 attractions in New York, according to Trip Advisor.

“If you like art, you'll love this,” people have told us.

And of course we do. After an English breakfast at our little diner, we take the subway to 68^th Street, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The Frick collection is just a couple of blocks away, We are on the edge of Central Park, which we intend to visit later in the day; but inevitably, because we're immersed in the art gallery, we don't manage it – that is rescheduled for tomorrow – Independence Day.

The Frick Collection was the private collection of Henry Clay Frick, a millionaire industrialist, who died in 1919. When he had his house built in Uptown Manhattan, he always intended it to be an art gallery, open to the public, after his death. His widow had right of residence there until she died; then the work began to make the residence into a gallery.

The house itself is beautiful; the walls of one of the rooms are decorated with huge panels, on which are painted with 18^th century romantic scenes, showing lovers wooing beautiful young women, amongst other things. Some of the furniture and artefacts are exquisite; there's a small table with inlaid rosebud painted porcelain panels, which converts into a writing desk, for example.

The huge conservatory garden running down the length of the house, displays a mass of greenery, and is an oasis of peace and calm. It has stone benches around the edges so that you can relax, and take time out of the art collection to re-energise yourself for the next room or rooms! It truly is a magical place.

There are many paintings by famous artists in the collection – among them Gainsborough, Constable, Turner, Degas, El Greco, Rembrandt.

Two of my favourite exhibits are a pair of paintings by Hans Holbein the younger – they are meant to be hung as a pair, and are, I'm told, extremely famous. The first one, painted in 1527, depicts Sir Thomas More, who was Lord Chancellor during Henry V111's reign; More was beheaded for treason in 1535 because he opposed the Protestant Reformation, and refused to support the king in his quest to become Supreme Head of the Church of England.

The second painting, painted in 1532, is of Thomas Cromwell, who weedled his way into Henry V111's good books by supporting the Protestant Reformation and the king's quest to become Supreme Head of the Church of England. However it didn't do him much good; he also fell out of favour and was executed for treason in 1540. We are asked to look at the paintings and see where the artist's sympathy lies – with Thomas More or Thomas Cromwell? Both portraits are unsmiling, but it is blatantly obvious that Hans Holbein liked and admired Thomas More, and disliked Thomas Cromwell. (Should you be interested, the paintings come up in Wikipedia under Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell, so you can judge for yourself!)

After a couple of hours in the gallery, Reg and I are flagging. We need to relax and refresh! We're allowed to leave the gallery and return later; the gallery receptionist recommends “Bel Ami” , a French coffee shop/patisserie not far away from the gallery.

This is a posh area; shops such as Gucci, Cartier, and Dolce and Gabbana are splashed around the neighbourhood. The coffee shop is tiny, but it has real French chocolate éclairs, with chocolate cream inside them! When I text my daughter Elaine & tell her this, she is very jealous! A latté, a green tea, a pastry for Reg and my cake, costs as much as our full egg and bacon breakfast this morning! But we do enjoy it.

We manage to see the rest of the paintings in the Frick Collection on our return, though don't have the time or the energy to devote to some of the beautiful sculptures and other artefacts. One of the reasons people say they enjoy visiting the Frick Collection is that it is possible to see all the paintings in one day; however plans are afoot by the trustees to extend this beautiful house and to expand the collection. David Masello, writing in the New York Times on 14 June, who says he visits the collection “almost on a weekly basis” gives his reaction to news of the expansion. He says “I felt blunt disappointment, as well as betrayal.” He continues:

“I have yet to visit any museum in the world more satisfying to me than the Frick..... I fear that after its proposed expansion the museum will become more of a burden than a retreat. …...Museums don’t need as much space as they desire. After all, painters are content to stay within their frames. “

We're glad we visited the Frick Collection when we did, before it loses its charm – and before it becomes too big to view in one day.