The Frick Collection

The Frick Collection is contained in house taking up the entire front of a block. It was owned by a man named Frick who made it his life’s work to collect paintings and sculptures to fill his house. Although he only lived in it for six years before dying, as soon as his wife also passed away, the house was opened to the public. It’s filled with grandfather clocks, ancient marble, preserved. Water dribbles out of a fountain in the middle of the indoor courtyard. The stones in the ceiling let spots of light through, fading into the gallery. The gardener has bags open, his gloved hands spilling grains of dirt against the cool marble floor; he quickly sweeps them up before continuing his work. He grabs at the only colored flowers- bloody spatters against the green leaves- and snips away. He pulls long stems out, showing that all of the stocks are dead, already cut and decaying. The flowers fall away with a brush. All of the furniture is preserved, roped off to war off the evils that can be called children. Vases and potpourri pots are left uncased, maybe to redeem a sense of trust in the visitor. Even though the Frick Collection is no huge museum like the MOMA, it has a sense of connection to the city as a part of its past.