The Frick Collection
Asia Week New York is delighted to welcome The Frick Collection to our network of world-class institutions! Founded by industrialist Henry Clay Frick (1849–1919) and opened to the public in 1935, the museum is celebrated for its intimate, domestic setting and its extraordinary collection of paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts. The Frick’s significance lies not only in the quality of its artworks but also in the way they are displayed, preserving the character of a private home and offering visitors a rare, immersive experience of art, architecture, and history intertwined.
The recently renovated Frick Collection represents a milestone in the museum’s history, combining restored historic interiors with expanded galleries and modern amenities. This first comprehensive upgrade since 1935 allows visitors to experience the collection with greater depth and accessibility, while maintaining the mansion’s original Gilded Age charm.
Two Figures of Ladies on Stands, Chinese, Qing Dynasty (1644−1911), Kangxi Period (1662−1722), hard-paste porcelain with polychrome overglaze, 38 × 10 1/4 × 10 1/4 in. (96.5 × 26 × 26 cm)
Valued for their craftsmanship and harmony with the European masterworks, the Frick’s Asian Art holdings focus primarily on Chinese decorative arts, including blue-and-white and famille verte porcelain, Qing dynasty porcelain and jades, lacquerware, and bronze vessels. Select Japanese and Indian works, such as lacquer, metalwork, and miniatures, further reflect Frick’s interest in global artistry and contribute to the museum’s distinctive blend of cultures, materials, and historical periods.
Among the highlights of the Frick’s Asian holdings is this pair of porcelain figures of elegant ladies, created during a particularly innovative period in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, when overglaze enamel techniques—known as famille verte for their dominant green tones—were developed. The figures feature vibrant glazes in naturalistic motifs such as chrysanthemums, roses, and flying storks, alongside abstract elements like the wan, a Buddhist symbol of good fortune. The women represent ideal female beauty, as defined by the seventeenth-century writer and aesthetician Li Yu (1611–1680) with egg-shaped faces, willow-like eyebrows and bodies, cherry-like lips, and delicate hands offering a fruit or flower—a traditional sign of good wishes. Likely made for export to the West, their large, fragile form meant only a few ever reached Europe. On view on the first floor in Room 10, Living Hall, be sure to see these remarkable works for yourself!
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