Until today, my favorite museum in New York had been the Met - especially because it houses my favorite painting. But today a strong contender to the #1 museum spot came up - The Frick Collection.
Eventhough it is one of the more famous 'small museums', I had never bothered to read up about the Frick, so when I visited it today on a whim, the pleasure of seeing the rare collection was doubled by surprise. And oh my, the collection suits me so very much!!
Housed in 18th-century styled palace of Mr. Frick, the collection of European paintings is absolutely astounding - if you get a chance, in addition to observing Rembrandt's self portrait from close up, go all the way back to the end (near the boucher room) and see the painting. It is a long way, but the effect of his golden dress and the face in shadows is worth the walk! Turner's waterfronts are as pleasing as ever, but Paulo Veronese touches your wisdom with The Choice Between Virtue and Vice and Wisdom and Strength. The house itself is as breathtaking as some of its paintings - the elegant drawing room nearly, not quite, as appealing as Rembrandt's The Polish Raider or Renoir's portrait of a young mother with her two children.
One of the special attraction to me were the books - the elegant display all along the walls in the reading room adds a special, rarely seen, effect to the display of other art work.
Also
, almost none of the paintings are 'protected' behind ropes and enclosures - on the downside, though, you cannot take your kids if they are less than ten years old :(Museum entrance is at 70th street, 5th Avenue. It is open 10 AM to 6 PM from Monday through Saturday, whereas on Sundays it operates from 11 AM to 5 PM
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