A Visit to the Frick

By Mikaila Rivas '26

On the cold and cloudy Thursday we had off from school, and I decided it would be the perfect day to visit the Frick Collection before it closed for renovation. The Frick Collection contains global art from the 15th to 19th Century. I attended the Frick Madison, the temporary location of the collection, which is now closed, but will re-open at its initial location.

In museums, I like to work my way up to the top, so I started on the second floor where the art is first shown on view. There, I looked into the eyes of the European bourgeoisie and the homes of commoners in the late 1400s. After walking through all the rooms of art, I came to the realization that I was the youngest person in the museum, likely the only fifteen year old in the space. Most of the visitors were the elderly, from whom I enjoyed hearing comments about the art.  These observant visitors uttered interesting remarks under their breath, like “Oh, how lovely” and “Well, isn’t that beautiful.” Their immediate observations about the art brought a smile to my face and reminded me of how grateful I am to live in a city where I have easy access to see beautiful art every day in a museum or simply by observing what is around me.

After some flights of stairs, I reached the third floor. My personal highlights were the intricately-detailed Indian rugs and East Asian vases and teapots with small designs, categorized in varying colors. One day, I hope to own a similar set of pottery. The last yet my favorite floor was the fourth floor with large, beautiful European paintings and sculptures. My favorite set of paintings in the museum were Jean-Honoré Fragonard's Progress of Love located on the last floor. The four paintings depict the events of the love affair between King Louis XV and his last lover, Madame du Barry. The canvases had a forest in the background with the couple interacting in front of it wearing grand, royal outfits.

Before I left the museum, I bought postcards of the paintings, which were only $1 each, a perfect price for me, especially since you weren’t allowed to take photos. I had a great time at the Frick Collection and I hope others may enjoy it when the museum reopens later this year.

Photos Courtesy of artnet.com

Edited by: Aryana Mehran '26, Catherine Polatidis '26, Ms. Brilliant

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