The Frick Museum and Gardens in Pittsburgh, or officially The Frick Art & Historical Center is known to most as “The Frick.”
Besides art, this museum also contains rotating special exhibits, a car and carriage museum, botanical garden, and the Gilded Age Clayton Mansion. The day after Christmas, my sister and I visited and took in the special exhibit called “The Scandinavian Home: Landscape and Lore” which ran from September 27 to January 11. Upcoming special exhibits are listed at the bottom of this blog. For additional details of the Frick family and photos of the museum from my visit 7 years ago, please click here.
The special exhibit is artwork from when Scandinavia (Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway) was going through a period of nation building and creating identities though local arts. Some were previously under the Russian Empire. My son Mike lives in Denmark with his family, so this exhibit has a special place in my heart. Rejecting mass production, local crafts like this pot sprang up to give local identities. Nordic painting also became prevalent. This one by Chrisian Krohg in 1882 is a Portrait of the Swedish Painter Karl Nordström at the Nordic artists’ colony of Grez-sur-Loing just south of Paris.
A 1900 painting “Girl Reading” by Danish artist Johan Gedmundsen-Holmgren shows that women were not fragile beings belonging at home, but intelligent educated women who have a strong place in society.
The 1908-09 Lithograph by Edvard Munch, the most famous painter from Norway is called “Omega’s Flight.” He refers to Alpha and Omega to Adam and Eve. In this lithograph, Alpha is not happy with sharing her love of Omega with animals like the deer in the image.
A few furniture pieces included a 1900 Armchair by Lars Kinsarvik who is one of Norway’s leading carvers, and a 1900 writing desk by Swedish designer Louis Sparre that was made in his Porvoo Finland workshop. Sparre took design elements from French Art Nouveau furniture.
Returning to the permanent Frick art collection is a 1610 Peter Paul Rubens portrait of Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency, Princess of Condé. Quite a story about this young lady if you choose to look her up. She almost became a mistress of Henry IV of France, but her husband escaped with her to Brussels after their wedding and did not return to France until after King Henry’s death. Henry wanted her as a mistress and threatened war with Flanders unless she be returned to him.
A humorous portrait was that called “Cream” by Hendrik Kerstens in 2015. This young woman sporting an elaborate hairstyle from 18th century women is actually a hairstyle made from shaving cream and was of his daughter Paula.
A furniture item of a Regal Parlor Organ was from 1750 by Jean-Pierre Lutz and Francois Duhamel. It was likely made for Marie Louise-Elisabeth daughter of King Louis XV.
In the car and carriage museum, my sister and I voted the best in the show was the 1931 Lincoln Model K, 202A, Sport Phaeton. Another favorite was the 1908 Buick Model 10 Runabout.
Upcoming Frick exhibits include Lewis Hine Pictures America and French Moderns.
Nuts and Bolts
- The museum is at 7227 Reynolds Street, Pittsburgh
- The museum is closed Mondays, but open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 AM to 5:00 PM
- Admission to gardens, permanent collection and a section of the Car and Carriage Museum is free; separate admission fees apply to Clayton Mansion tour and Special Exhibits
- Parking for the museum is free and directly in front of the museum and grounds.
- There is a very nice café on the grounds which is open from 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM.
- The grounds are open earlier and longer than the museum times.
