Nearly
290 guests attended the Frick Collection's 2009 Garden Party on
July 15, 2009 in support of the museum and library.
The benefit was held
in the Frick's beloved Fifth Avenue Garden, designed by the celebrated
English garden designer Russell Page. The Garden, which is normally
closed to the general public, was redesigned at the time of the museum's
opening in 1935 by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr, son of the planner of Central
Park. It features an elevated terrace with a charming pebble walk, a
rose garden, a lower green along Fifth Avenue, a terrace along the building,
and a classical portico.
Guests, including Frick chairman Margot Bogert, Jeremiah Bogert, Frick
director Anne Poulet, Agnes Gund, Laura Pels and Sylvester and Gillian
Miniter, enjoyed refreshments and hors d'oeurvres
by caterer Sonnier and Castle. The jazz quartet of vintage bandleader
Michael Arenella offered a 1930s vibe with his renderings of the great
American Songbook.
During the evening, senior curator Susan Grace Galassi
gave a gallery talk in the adjacent Oval Room on the acclaimed summer
exhibition Portraits, Pastels, and Prints: Whistler
in The Frick Collection.
Curatorial assistants Caitlin Henningsen and Joanna Sheers stood by in
the Cabinet Gallery to discuss Whistler's series of etchings and
pastels. The etchings and prints of this room capture Venice the way
Whistler appreciated it–for its quiet moments and off-the-beaten-track
discoveries. These works have not been on view for over twenty years
and are a treat to see.
