The Frick Fine Arts Library ~ Early History

Miss Helen Clay Frick

Miss Helen Clay Frick, born in 1888, was both a philanthropist and a lover of art, and many of the museums and libraries that she founded and funded throughout her lifetime still stand to this day in Pittsburgh and New York (Lockard 1997, 9). Miss Frick was the daughter of Henry Clay Frick, the industrial giant and art collector who's death in 1919 spurred Miss Frick to erect many monuments in his name, especially throughout Pittsburgh where she was born and grew up (Lockard 1997, 9). The definite reason for her homage to her father over the years is not clear, but may have been in an attempt to save the family name after her father's reputation had been hurt and his life almost taken during the 1892 Homestead Strike (Lockard 1997, 9). Whatever the case may have been, she defended his honor throughout her lifetime and we have been left with many beautiful monuments, museums, and libraries in his name (Lockard 1997, 10).   


Citations: 
Lockard, Ray Anne. 1997. Helen clay frick: Pittsburgh's altruist and gentlewoman avenger. Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America 16 (2): 9-14

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