From Sevres to Fifth Avenue: Ceramics at the Frick

The Connecticut Ceramic Study Circle presents From Sevres to Fifth Avenue: Ceramics at the Frick by Ian Wardropper, Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Director of the Frick Collection, New York, NY

As Henry Clay Frick’s Fifth Avenue mansion neared completion in 1913-14, he realized that he needed furnishings to match the extraordinary quality of his Old Master paintings. In short order Italian Renaissance cassoni and bronze statuettes, French Limoges enamels and rococo furniture, among other objects, arrived at his New York address. Included with these were Sèvres and Chinese porcelain of the highest level of quality. Over the last decade the Museum has been fortunate to receive gifts or pledges from superlative private collections of Meissen and Du Paquier porcelain and French faience as well as to purchase several ceramic masterworks. This lecture celebrates the ascending prominence of pottery and porcelain at the Frick and reveals the role they will play in the renovations planned for the coming years.