The exhibition, Vermeer, Monet, Rembrandt: Forging the Frick Collections in Pittsburgh and New York (April 7-July 12, 2024), provides an unprecedented opportunity to host a symposium that uncovers themes related to American gilded age collecting, the role of gender, race, and sexuality in the creation, display, and collection of art, as well as shed light on Henry Clay Frick's indomitable daughter, Helen Clay Frick, and her critical role in forming both The Frick Collection and The Frick Pittsburgh.

This symposium will explore the legacy of the father-daughter collecting dynasty of Henry Clay Frick and Helen Clay Frick. Talks from scholars and experts will trace the development of their collecting interests, situate the two within a broader network of elite members of the art market, and examine the role they played in shaping our knowledge and experience of works of art.

Presentations will include novel research related to:
- Familial collecting and collections
- Gilded age display
- Eco-criticism
- The intersection of gender, sexuality, and race and collecting
- The cultural, social, and environmental legacies of gilded age titans of industry in Pittsburgh and Western PA

SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE
Thursday, June 6, 2024
Frick Art Museum Auditorium, Pittsburgh, PA
9:30 a.m. – Welcome
Elizabeth Barker, Executive Director, The Frick Pittsburgh

9:45 a.m. – Helen Clay Frick: Stepping Out of Her Father's Shadow
Chair: Dawn Reid Brean, Chief Curator and Director of Collections, The Frick Pittsburgh

Helen Clay Frick's Legacy as a Daughter, Collector, Art Historian, and Philanthropist
Inge Reist, Independent Scholar and Director Emerita, The Center for the History of Collection, Frick Art Reference Library

"Destroyed by H. F.": Reconsidering Malvina Hoffman's Portrait Bust of Helen Clay Frick (1919)
Laura Engel, Duquesne University

Prelude to a Feud: Helen Frick, Walter Read Hovey, and the University of Pittsburgh
Sylvia Rhor Samaniego, University Art Gallery, University of Pittsburgh
Alex Taylor, University of Pittsburgh

11:15 a.m. – Coffee Break

12:00 p.m. – New Directions: Collecting and Creating Art in the Gilded Age
Chair, Lauryn Smith: Assistant Curator, The Frick Pittsburgh

Adelaide HC Frick: Fortifying the Legacy of Henry Clay Frick
Margaret Laster, Independent Scholar

Knoedler & Co.: A Tale of Two Collections
Samantha Deutch, Frick Art Reference Library

Decorative Displacement: Ethnographic Photography and the Rookwood Pottery Company
Manon Gaudet, PhD Candidate, Yale University

Symposium concludes at 1:30 p.m. and resumes in the evening

6:30 p.m. – Forging the Steel City: The Legacies of the Gilded Age in Pittsburgh Roundtable
Frick Art Museum Auditorium

During the Gilded Age, a small, but powerful group of industrialists called Pittsburgh their home. While they used their wealth and privilege to establish museums and universities, their lavish lifestyles filled with luxurious travel, private education, and sprawling estates sharply contrasted with the lived experience of most Pittsburghers, who made their livelihoods serving in wealthy homes and working in the hazardous steel and coke mills. These industrialists, including Henry Clay Frick and Andrew Carnegie, have left an indelible mark on the fabric of Pittsburgh, shaping the city, its economy, and culture.

This roundtable looks beneath the gleaming veneer of the Gilded Age to explore the impact, both positive and negative, of the industrialists who ruled Pittsburgh’s economy and society. In this roundtable, local experts in labor, ecology, the arts, philanthropy, and social issues will examine the legacies of Henry Clay Frick and his counterparts on the culture, land, and economy of Western PA.

Moderators: Dawn Reid Brean and Lauryn Smith

Participants:
Gavin Benjamin, Artist

Madeline Gent, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh

Carly McCoy, Rivers of Steel

Ali Printz, Artist, PhD Candidate at Temple University, and Terra Foundation Reinstallation Curatorial Fellow at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

The Frick Art Museum galleries will remain open until 8:30 p.m. Registration is required for both the morning symposium and evening roundtable. Registration is available on the Frick Pittsburgh's website: https://www.thefrickpittsburgh.org/Event-Symposium-Forging-a-Legacy-Collecting-in-the-Gilded-Age

If you have any questions, please contact Lauryn Smith at lsmiththefrickpittsburgh.org