Gilded But Not So Golden: The Frick Collection NYC
Author: Lily Wilson, MA student in Public History at Queen’s University Belfast.

In August 2025 I visited the newly renovated Frick Collection in New York City. I was excited to see what promised to be an exquisite collection of masterpieces, and a glimpse into how American business tycoon Henry Clay Frick lived.
Sitting in the beautiful garden room, my mom shared an interesting story about my grandfather (Pap), whose father had worked as a miner for Frick in the early 1900s. The Frick Collection has a sister museum in Pittsburgh, the Frick Mansion and Gardens. When Clayton House opened there in 1990 for tours, she decided to take my Pap to see it, thinking he would enjoy the historic home. But instead of admiring the stained-glass windows or oak paneling, he was visibly angry.
My great-grandfather worked 12-hour shifts. Every seventh day, he worked 24 hours to switch to the night shift. What was supposed to be a nice family outing to a local museum, meant something entirely different to my Pap: “While my dad was working like a dog, this man was living like a king,” he fumed.
These were the words my Pap expressed after visiting Clayton House. These were the words that swirled in my mind as I wandered through the gallery halls of the Frick Collection.

The collection itself is remarkable, and the guided audio tour shared fascinating insights about the artworks from the curators themselves. But I was disappointed the tour neglected to mention or explore Frick’s complex history. The Frick Collection focuses instead on the art and collection itself, disregarding what enabled the collecting.
Frick was known for his opposition to organized labor and cruel treatment of workers, refusing to let unionized workers into his mines. The Homestead Strike of 1892, in which a confrontation ensued between steel workers and Pinkerton security guards, culminated in the deaths of 10 people with dozens injured. His immense wealth depended therefore on the oppression of laborers, like my great-grandfather.
Yet, Frick left his vast art collection to the public, writing in his will his vision of his New York mansion becoming a public resource devoted to “encouraging and developing the study of the fine arts, and of advancing the general knowledge of kindred subjects.” Indeed, the Frick Art Research Library supports academics and art enthusiasts alike to have unparalleled access to the collection.

Was Frick genuinely hoping to support the arts, or was he more interested in cementing his own legacy? Just before his death in 1919, Frick declared, “I want this collection to be my monument.” This bold statement seemingly implies Frick harbored more selfish motivations. How do we grapple with these parallel legacies? Is it possible to shine a light on the good, the bad, and the ugly of these historic homes and their inhabitants?
Back in Pittsburgh, Clayton House is making efforts to acknowledge and explore Frick’s complicated history. The reinterpreted tour won a 2024 Leadership in History Award from the American Association for State and Local History, which recognizes excellence for interpretation that makes the past more meaningful for people. The award-winning “Gilded, Not Golden” tour is committed to providing a more well-rounded view of 19th century Pittsburgh by including the stories of those that worked for Frick.
The tour identifies objects and their cost compared to the wages of a housemaid or miner and estimates how long it would have taken them to purchase that same object. Most staff members did not keep diaries and the lack of personal perspectives inspired the curatorial staff to draw upon other sources. In this case, they poured through monthly wage books and household object receipts.
This innovative practice illustrates the immense wealth disparities of Frick’s time and the realities of people like my great-grandfather. It also speaks to the creative and thoughtful approach of the Frick Pittsburgh to share these stories.

One of Frick’s grandchildren serves on the board of trustees in New York. So, it makes sense that they may be hesitant to explore these more difficult themes of labor abuses and wealth inequalities. But behind every masterpiece in Frick’s collection lies the story of someone like my grandfather. I wonder how many 12-hour shifts he would have had to work to purchase a Vermeer or Rembrandt painting…
The Frick Collection can learn from its sister museum by exploring what enabled Frick to collect so many masterpieces – the labor of others. Exploring Frick’s parallel legacy and sharing the stories of workers can only enrich visitors’ experiences, as proven by Clayton House. By taking a wider approach to the history surrounding the collection, the Frick in New York can create a more inclusive, well-rounded narrative for a place that is such a prominent symbol of a gilded, but not so golden, past.
Lily Wilson is currently pursuing an MA in Public History at Queen’s University Belfast. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2024 where she studied history, political science, and German. In 2024-2025 she was a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Wiesbaden, Germany. |
Works Cited
Quodbach, E. “‘I Want This Collection to Be My Monument’: Henry Clay Frick and the Formation of The Frick Collection.” Journal of the History of Collections 21, no. 2 (2009): 229–40. doi:10.1093/jhc/fhp008.
The Frick Collection. “Henry Clay Frick.” About. Accessed October 16,
2025. https://www.frick.org/about/history/henry_clay_frick.
The Frick Collection. “History.” About. Accessed October 16,
2025. https://www.frick.org/about/history.
The Frick Collection. “Board of Trustees.” About. Accessed October 22,
2025. https://www.frick.org/about/trustees
The Frick Pittsburgh. “Clayton.” Accessed October 20, 2025.
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Bridging Editor (May 14, 2026). Gilded But Not So Golden: The Frick Collection NYC. IFPH-FIHP. Retrieved June 9, 2026 from https://doi.org/10.58079/167zc

