How Frick Built His Art Palace

Simple but elegant.

That apparently was industrialist Henry Clay Frick's governing principle in planning the 70th-Street abode for his family and his art---a 1914 mansion that still stands as a monument to his taste and his art collection. At a time when prominent Philadelphians are intent on dismantling the creation of Albert Barnes, it is instructive to read about the intensity with which another passionate collector pursued his own vision for his collection.

In his new book, "Building the Frick Collection," that collection's chief curator, Colin Bailey, details Frick's ideas for the design of his art palace. These principles were first enunciated in his instructions to the architects for his earlier residence on Boston's North Shore:

Frick was determined that the place "be kept as simple as possible" (although there were silver-plated plumbing fixtures in each bathroom)....He insisted that the interior finishes be kept "severely simple," and that "while everything in connection with the house [should be] made of the best materials, we want it severely plain." These terms---and the manner in which they were voiced---will reappear in Frick's dealings with the architect [Thomas Hastings] and decorators of his New York home."

His New York interior designer, Sir Charles Carrick Allom, won Frick's approval by assuring him that "the great point is the placing of all...ornamentation in such parts of the scheme as will ensure with certainty that nothing prevents the eye from travelling always to your works of art....In no cases should great elaboration of ceilings be attempted, for their height is insufficient to place them out of the line of vision when the pictures are under consideration."

This, according to Bailey, "must have been music to Frick's ears"...or maybe a tribute to his discerning eye.