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Frick Art Research Library
The Frick Art Research Library (formerly known as the Frick Art Reference Library) is the art library of the Frick Collection museum in Manhattan, New York City. The library, founded at the Henry Clay Frick House in 1920 by Helen Clay Frick, offers access to materials on the study of art to students, scholars, and the public. Its collection encompasses art from the fourth to the mid-twentieth century. It serves the greater art and art history research community—in person and online—and is a member of the New York Art Resources Consortium (which also includes the libraries of the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Modern Art).
Helen Clay Frick founded the Frick Art Reference Library—renamed in 2024 to the Frick Art Research Library—in 1920 as a memorial to her father, Henry Clay Frick, who had died in 1919. Its first home was the bowling alley of the Henry Clay Frick House; the library's staff worked in the house's basement. In 1924, the library was relocated from the bowling alley to a one-story building at 6 East 71st Street next to the Frick residence; the new structure was designed by the architecture firm of Carrère and Hastings. The library’s current building, at 10 East 71st Street, was designed by John Russell Pope and opened to the public January 14, 1935.
In 1943-1944, the Committee on the Protection of Cultural Treasures in War Areas—a branch of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section unit, popularly known as the Monuments Men—headquartered at the library and prepared maps indicating historical sites and monuments for Allied troops to avoid during air strikes. The maps and documents were later used to help restitution efforts.
The Frick Art Reference Library formally merged with the Frick Collection in 1984.
From 2007 to 2021, the Center for the History of Collecting aimed to support the study of the formation of American and European public and private art collections from the Renaissance and colonial periods to the present day. It hosted lectures and symposia, offered fellowships, and awarded a biennial book prize. It created the online publication The Archives Directory for the History of Collecting, which the library continues to edit, augment, and host today. The program’s other publications include six volumes of the Pennsylvania State University Press series The Frick Collection Studies in the History of Art Collecting in America; two volumes in Brill’s Studies in the History of Collecting & Art Markets; and three publications with Centro de Estudios Europa Hispánica.
From 2020 to 2024, the library, along with the Frick Collection, relocated to Frick Madison (at 945 Madison Avenue) during the renovation of 1 East 70th Street and 10 East 71st Street. The library's reading room was renovated during this time. The library was renamed Frick Art Research Library in 2024 to better reflect its expanded mission and wealth of digital resources.
The library holds a vast array of physical and digital art historical research materials. As of 2024, this includes 300,000 monographs; 3,300 periodical titles; and 100,000 auction catalogs from over 1,000 auction houses, dating from the seventeenth century to the present. In addition, the library offers access to electronic resources including art and image databases, e-books, e-journals, and a selection of websites. Around 25% of its collection is made up of “unique items”—items not held by any other library in WorldCat.
The Frick Art Periodicals Index, which indexes articles on western European and American art and artists, was started in 1923. The two indices—one in English, French, and Italian; the other in Eastern European languages—are fully digitized and available on EBSCO.
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Frick Art Research Library
The Frick Art Research Library (formerly known as the Frick Art Reference Library) is the art library of the Frick Collection museum in Manhattan, New York City. The library, founded at the Henry Clay Frick House in 1920 by Helen Clay Frick, offers access to materials on the study of art to students, scholars, and the public. Its collection encompasses art from the fourth to the mid-twentieth century. It serves the greater art and art history research community—in person and online—and is a member of the New York Art Resources Consortium (which also includes the libraries of the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Modern Art).
Helen Clay Frick founded the Frick Art Reference Library—renamed in 2024 to the Frick Art Research Library—in 1920 as a memorial to her father, Henry Clay Frick, who had died in 1919. Its first home was the bowling alley of the Henry Clay Frick House; the library's staff worked in the house's basement. In 1924, the library was relocated from the bowling alley to a one-story building at 6 East 71st Street next to the Frick residence; the new structure was designed by the architecture firm of Carrère and Hastings. The library’s current building, at 10 East 71st Street, was designed by John Russell Pope and opened to the public January 14, 1935.
In 1943-1944, the Committee on the Protection of Cultural Treasures in War Areas—a branch of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section unit, popularly known as the Monuments Men—headquartered at the library and prepared maps indicating historical sites and monuments for Allied troops to avoid during air strikes. The maps and documents were later used to help restitution efforts.
The Frick Art Reference Library formally merged with the Frick Collection in 1984.
From 2007 to 2021, the Center for the History of Collecting aimed to support the study of the formation of American and European public and private art collections from the Renaissance and colonial periods to the present day. It hosted lectures and symposia, offered fellowships, and awarded a biennial book prize. It created the online publication The Archives Directory for the History of Collecting, which the library continues to edit, augment, and host today. The program’s other publications include six volumes of the Pennsylvania State University Press series The Frick Collection Studies in the History of Art Collecting in America; two volumes in Brill’s Studies in the History of Collecting & Art Markets; and three publications with Centro de Estudios Europa Hispánica.
From 2020 to 2024, the library, along with the Frick Collection, relocated to Frick Madison (at 945 Madison Avenue) during the renovation of 1 East 70th Street and 10 East 71st Street. The library's reading room was renovated during this time. The library was renamed Frick Art Research Library in 2024 to better reflect its expanded mission and wealth of digital resources.
The library holds a vast array of physical and digital art historical research materials. As of 2024, this includes 300,000 monographs; 3,300 periodical titles; and 100,000 auction catalogs from over 1,000 auction houses, dating from the seventeenth century to the present. In addition, the library offers access to electronic resources including art and image databases, e-books, e-journals, and a selection of websites. Around 25% of its collection is made up of “unique items”—items not held by any other library in WorldCat.
The Frick Art Periodicals Index, which indexes articles on western European and American art and artists, was started in 1923. The two indices—one in English, French, and Italian; the other in Eastern European languages—are fully digitized and available on EBSCO.