Following a major renovation, The Frick Collection has reopened with newly accessible spaces—including the former private rooms of the Frick family—shedding new light on its holdings, especially Italian art. To mark this new chapter in the museum’s life, Giulio Dalvit, curator at The Frick Collection, was invited to speak at the Italian Cultural Institute in New York. During his talk, titled “New Light (Especially) on Italian Art in the Collection,” he explored how the reinstallation enhances the way visitors engage with the museum’s remarkable holdings of Italian art. The conversation focused on newly revealed connections between artists and schools, and on the enduring legacy of Helen Clay Frick’s scholarly and collecting efforts.
How does the new display at The Frick Collection encourage visitors to see Italian artworks in a different light or from new perspectives?
With the addition of our new second-floor galleries, Italian sculptures of the highest quality—such as the Laurana and Verrocchio busts—have been moved to more prominent locations, drawing new attention to these exceptional works. Early Italian paintings acquired through the initiative of Helen Clay Frick have also been relocated upstairs to the space which was once her former bedroom (now called the Gold-Grounds Room), paying homage to her critical role in shaping the institution and its collection. The newly installed Medals Room is largely devoted to the pioneering role Italian artists played in developing the genre of portrait medals.
On the first floor, visitors will find other celebrated Italian paintings, including those by Titian and Bellini, in their familiar locations in the Living Hall. +Italian art remains central to the identity of The Frick Collection, and the re-installation emphasizes its enduring importance.
What role did Helen Clay Frick play in shaping the museum’s Italian art collection, and how do her travel diaries influence our understanding of it today?
Helen Clay Frick, daughter of the museum’s founder, was a true pioneer. At a time when art historical research was largely dominated by men, especially in Europe, she traveled extensively to study polyptychs and even attempted to reconstruct them in her scrapbooks—an extraordinary undertaking for a wealthy American woman of her time. With the exception of the Bellini, all of the Frick’s early Italian paintings were acquired thanks to her efforts rather than her father’s. This group of works is a defining feature of the collection.
Her founding of the Frick Art Reference Library (recently renamed the Frick Art Research Library) next to the museum in 1920 laid the groundwork for serious art historical study in the United States, shaping the Frick as both a museum and a research center.
Were there any surprising or unconventional pairings made in the reorganization of the galleries that offer fresh interpretations of the works?
Yes—many of the bronzes are now thoughtfully placed throughout the house with subtle nods to surrounding paintings: a sea monster beneath a seascape storm, a Roman She-Wolf beneath an El Greco portrait painted in Rome, and a satyr-shaped inkwell beneath the portrait of the provocative writer Aretino. Another El Greco is flanked by early gold-ground paintings, a reference to his beginnings as an icon painter. But perhaps the most striking effect of the new display is the way groups of works now come together, forming concentrated pockets of extraordinary quality—creating fresh dialogues and a renewed sense of discovery.
What are some of the untold or lesser-known stories behind specific Italian pieces in the collection that the new layout aims to highlight?
One story I love involves Gentile da Fabriano’s Virgin and Child, which, in the nineteenth century, belonged to the Duc de Broglie—the uncle of Madame d’Haussonville, whose famous portrait by Ingres also hangs at the Frick. She would have seen the Gentile painting in her uncle’s home. Now, the two works hang on opposite sides of the same wall, evoking the centuries-long journeys of these objects and the layered histories they carry with them.
