Best Museum Someone Used To Live In

Henry Frick was a Pittsburgh coke and steel industrialist, as well as an avid art collector, who in 1913 began construction on what would be his $5 million mansion at 70th Street and Fifth Avenue—which he always intended to leave to the public, along with his large art collection. Now the former residence is a small gem of a museum, housing Frick's eclectic personal collection of mostly European paintings, prints, sculptures, and drawings, as well as furniture, rugs, porcelain, enamel, and silver. The Living Hall has been unchanged for the past 76 years, while construction and renovations helped the home transition to a museum in other rooms. The Frick has the wonderful combination of being both extremely accessible (you can see it in under two hours or linger for as long as you like) and personal, offering a glimpse into the life of a man at a time in New York history in a way that the Met could never do. Wandering about, you can't help imagining yourself as a captain of industry, overseeing your elegant, high-ceilinged domain, perhaps with a brandy snifter in hand. Take some time to relax in the incredibly serene enclosed courtyard, designed in the 1970s by Russell Page. You'll emerge onto Fifth Avenue a touch more debonair.

Source: The Village Voice

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