Last month, the Frick Collection reopened after nearly five years. Though its highlights had been exhibited at the nearby Breuer Building in the interval, seeing them installed again in their Fifth Avenue home felt like stepping into pre-pandemic New York—or, for the first-time visitor, into the city’s Gilded Age. The supporting architecture has been upgraded, the hang has changed at the margins, and one can finally climb the formerly closed-off staircase to another floor of galleries.
Yet the experience is the same: the beauty, quality, and setting are transporting. A year ago, the glories of European Paintings 1300–1800 at the Met were re-examined in Air Mail, which has inspired this equally subjective sequel of favorites (as opposed to 10 “best”) at the Frick.
