Helen Clay Frick

Helen Clay Frick
Photograph of Frick in 1910
BornSeptember 2, 1888
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedNovember 9, 1984 (aged 96)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation(s)Philanthropist, art collector
Parent(s)Henry Clay Frick
Adelaide Howard Childs

Helen Clay Frick (September 2, 1888 – November 9, 1984)[1] was an American philanthropist and art collector. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the third child of the coke and steel magnate Henry Clay Frick (1849–1919) and his wife, Adelaide Howard Childs (1859–1931). Two of her siblings did not reach adulthood, and her father played favorites with his two surviving children, Childs Frick (1883–1965) and Helen. After the reading of their father's will, which favored Helen, the brother and sister were estranged for the rest of their lives.

She was equally interested in art history and philanthropy, making a catalogue of her father's art collection as a young woman, a collection which became the Frick Collection in New York. Her interest in the history of art resulted in her establishing the Frick Art Reference Library, which was originally housed in the bowling alley of the Frick family mansion in New York City at 1 East 70th Street. In 1924, a separate two and one-half story building was constructed at 6 East 71st Street to house the library, which was replaced in 1935 by the present thirteen story building at 10 East 71st Street.[2] The Library houses photographs and archival records that document the history of Western art, many works of which were lost during World Wars I and II. She also established an art library at the University of Pittsburgh and, later in her life, built the Frick Art Museum on the grounds of Clayton to house her private art collection.

Her interests and philanthropy efforts also extended to the environment. In 1908, she requested that her debutante gift from her father be a donation of land to the city of Pittsburgh for the purpose of becoming a public park. This land donation would become Frick Park.[3] In the 1950s, she made her own land donation and established Westmoreland Sanctuary, a nature preserve in Mount Kisco, New York.[4] She was also an avid gardener and belonged to the Bedford Garden Club.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYTobit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Knox, Katharine McCook (1979). The Story of the Frick Art Reference Library: The Early Years. New York: The Library, 38
  3. ^ Mieres, José; Hirtle, S. "History of Frick Park". Frick Park Clay Court Tennis Club. Frick Park Clay Court Tennis Club. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  4. ^ Feron, James (8 October 1976). "A Sanctuary For Sport Or Solitude". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. The New York Times. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Finding Aid for Helen Clay Frick Records - Correspondence, 1921-1960". The Frick Collection. The Frick Collection. Retrieved 31 January 2022.