The newly reopened and renovated Frick Collectionโonce the New York home of the Henry Clay Frick familyโwas celebrated, in part, through the thematic exhibition (June 18โSeptember 8) of three paintings by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer. Titled โVermeerโs Love Letters,โ the exhibition melds aesthetically into the buildingโs subtly retained grandeur. But not into Henry Clay Frickโs history and that of the people who once lived in the home, especially his daughter Helen, who battled with John D. Rockefeller Jr. publicly, privately, and in courts of law to preserve her fatherโs original purpose for the Collection. And the exhibition does not meld aesthetically into Johannes Vermeerโs purpose. Neither the theme of the exhibit nor the titles of the three paintings were provided by Vermeer, reflect his imperatives, or describe the paintingsโ content.
