I love to visit art museums and I’ve found my favorites tend to be collections that are the visions of a single owner. There are several great museums across the country that are the living embodiment of the men and women who assembled them. Art lovers can visit these once-private collections and here are three incredible private art collections that are now museums:
Henry Clay Frick – The Frick Collection – New York City, NY
This is one of my favorite museums in the world. It has all the elements: it’s one man’s private collection, intact as he collected it and it’s housed in the original home of the owner. The Frick Collection (1 East 70th Street, New York City) is an incredible art collection housed in a magnificent mansion on Fifth Avenue next to Central Park in New York City. The mansion was built in 1919 and was intended to feature the art during Mr. Frick’s lifetime and then become a museum on his death. Henry Clay Frick was an iron and steel tycoon who worked in partnership with Andrew Carnegie.
At The Frick Collection, you are seeing paintings Mr. Frick selected, in the same space where he viewed them. About one-third of the collection has been acquired since Mr. Frick’s death, but his original pieces are there and they are all presented as he wanted, without regard to period or to national origin. The collection includes Old Master and 19th century paintings from iconic artists like Rembrandt, El Greco, Hals, Vermeer and more. There is also an extensive porcelain and furniture collection, along with carpets, clocks and other objects. Adult admission is $18 and the museum features “Pay What You Wish” every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Frick is closed on Mondays.
Isabella Stuart Gardner – The Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum – Boston, MA
Sadly now known for a major unsolved robbery in 1990, The Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum (280, The Fenway, Boston, MA) is a beautiful museum in Boston designed by collector Isabella Stuart Gardner to house her private art collection and to share it with the public. I love this museum because the collection is truly eclectic, featuring wonderful examples of every kind of ancient, classic and antique artwork. There is also a unique cohesion, and you can still feel the influence of Mrs. Gardner while walking through the galleries.
Although the building was never Mrs. Gardner’s home, she was deeply involved in the design and construction of the building, which was done during her lifetime. The classical outside looks at home in Boston, but the inside replicated a Venetian palazzo. The museum was designed to showcase her collection, in the way she wanted it to be seen by the public. Adult admission is $15 and the museum is closed on Tuesdays. A fun note, admission is always free if your name is Isabella, but you must register online for a lifetime free pass.
Henry E. Huntington – The Huntingon – Pasadena, CA
The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens (1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA) is a magical place just outside Los Angeles in Pasadena. Henry Huntington’s former mansion is now a museum and features wonderful paintings and other art objects. It’s a bit less well known than some of the other Southern California museums and is usually less crowded as well. The house and library sit on 200 acres of beautiful grounds, 100 are formally landscaped gardens. So there are many places to walk and sit and enjoy the weather after seeing the artwork.
The Huntingtons were serious art collectors and the collection is one of the greatest collections of 18th and 19th century British paintings, decorative arts and sculpture outside the UK. One highlight I always enjoy visiting is “The Blue Boy” by Gainsborough. The collection of china and pottery is also amazing, as is the 19th century French furniture. The mansion setting allows you to get really close to the furniture to see the construction details. Henry Huntington was an early railroad baron and owned the Los Angeles streetcar and trolley system, as well as the city’s power company for a period of time.
Mr. Huntington was a legendary book collector and built a large library and research center next to his home. This houses an ever-changing exhibition of incredible treasures like original Gutenberg bibles, a “double-elephant” sized folio of Audubon’s “Birds of America”, Shakespeare plays printed during Shakespeare’s lifetime and more. The Huntington is closed on Tuesdays, adult admission is $20.
Freddy Sherman is a world traveler and editor of the travel blog travel4people.com. You can follow him on Twitter @thefredsherman
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