After 14 years at the helm of the Frick Collection, during which that art museum finally completed a controversial expansion of its Gilded Age mansion on Fifth Avenue—and temporarily set up shop in the modernist Breuer Building on Madison Avenue—its director, Ian Wardropper, agreed that he would retire next year.
“My goal is to leave the institution in good shape programmatically and financially, and that will be the case,” the 72-year-old Wardropper said in a telephone interview. “I hope to hand it over to someone with fresh ideas.”
The announcement is the latest in a series of significant resignations by longtime leaders of major museums, including the Guggenheim Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Glenn D. Lowry's contract is also expiring , the longtime director of MoMA, next year.
Such leadership changes have offered cultural institutions an opportunity – or even a mandate – to reset, especially at a time when job descriptions have become increasingly complex and concerns about diversity more pressing.
The Frick is particularly connected to the past due to its historic collection of old masters such as Bellini, Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals, as well as its location in the listed 1914 former residence of industrialist Henry Clay Frick, designed by Carrère and Hastings.
While many museums have adapted their programs in response to the strong demand for contemporary art over the past decade, the Frick under Wardropper has steadfastly adhered to its founding principles, focusing on masterpieces from the Renaissance to the early 20th century.
Most recently, the Frick appeared to loosen its ties at its temporary home, the former Whitney Museum, showing its Turners, Sargents and Fragonards alongside an exhibition dedicated to the black painter Barkley L. Hendricks (1945-2017), the first artist of, There has been a solo exhibition dedicated to color in the museum since its founding in 1935.
The museum also recently presented “Living Histories: Queer Views and Old Masters” with four contemporary artists – Doron Langberg, Salman Toor, Jenna Gribbon and Toyin Ojih Odutola – offering works that address issues of gender and queer identity, Tales that were previously excluded in a museum focusing on European art.
“I had to talk to some of the trustees about it because it was further away from what they considered frick,” Wardropper said of the show. “But it brought new audiences and new programs and opened people up to new ideas about what the Frick could be.”
Max Hollein, the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, said Wardropper demonstrated “diplomatic qualities” by bringing the Frick into the present while honoring the past. “He opened a dialogue with contemporary thinkers and cultural figures,” said Hollein. “The Frick could be perceived as a very static collection. I think Ian changed that.”
The Frick's renovation aims to improve the museum's visitor experience by improving circulation, amenities, infrastructure and wheelchair accessibility – meeting the needs of modern audiences without compromising the quality of the building. It also opens the restored second-floor living quarters of Frick and his wife Adelaide Howard Childs Frick, formerly used as museum offices and not open to the public.
The average number of visitors before the pandemic was between 285,000 and 300,000 per year. The museum's annual operating budget of about $30 million is expected to increase only slightly in the expanded building.
As for whether the Frick should and will do more Hendricks-esque exhibitions, Wardropper said the museum will continue to look for “a balance.”
“We are not a contemporary art institution and we are in a city full of art,” he said. “Where we can make a difference is in a meaningful interface with contemporary art without losing our mission, which is to continue to try to engage younger audiences in older art.”
“I think we need to show younger people in particular that if they pay attention and dig deep, they can really unearth something interesting.”
The Frick has been repeatedly thwarted in its previous expansion efforts and Wardropper clearly bears some battle scars. Despite strong protests, attempts to renovate the museum failed in 2014 and 2015 before Selldorf Architects' proposal was finally approved in 2018.
Preservationists, designers, critics and architects opposed the Frick's efforts to eliminate its tranquil East 70th Street garden designed by British landscape architect Russell Page, fearing that the museum would lose its intimate scale. The protesters included members of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Unite to Save the Frick coalition.
“Gardens are works of art,” said Robert AM Stern, dean of the Yale School of Architecture, at the time. “By Russell Page, one of the pre-eminent garden designers of the 20th century, this example is in perfect condition and should be respected as such. It is just as important as a tapestry or even a painting, and I think the museum has an obligation to recognize its importance.”
They also opposed the conversion of the museum's music room into a gallery for special exhibitions. The music room, which will be used for performances and lectures, has been moved underground. But Wardropper said he harbored no ill will and was happy with the outcome. “The only thing we didn’t get was a loading dock,” he said.
“I can't afford to hold grudges and stay unhappy – I just had to move on,” he said. “I was feeling pretty exhausted a few years ago, but it makes it even more satisfying to see that we've reached the end. There are still a few neighbors who are not completely happy, but I think most people understand that the Frick needs this.”
Under Annabelle Selldorf's current plan, the Frick, in consultation with Lynden B. Miller, a garden designer and preservationist, is restoring the garden to match Page's original vision. Instead of building over the garden as previously planned, Frick built underneath it. And via a new connection, the public can now walk from the museum to the art library without having to leave the house.
The new Frick, scheduled to open at the end of this year, also includes a new education center, a small café and an expanded museum shop. (The Frick's admission restriction to children aged 10 and over remains in effect.)
As for what's next, Wardropper said he's working on two books, one with Selldorf about the renovation and another about Frick and his daughter Helen as collectors. “I’m looking forward to a breather,” he said.
While the board will conduct an international search for his successor, Wardropper said it would be great if that person came “from within” and he hopes that Xavier F. Salomon, the deputy director and chief curator, “will be one of the candidates.” “ .”
With a Ph.D. Wardropper studied art history at New York University and previously spent a decade at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he completed his tenure as chairman of European sculpture and decorative arts. He previously worked for 20 years at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he served as curator of European decorative arts, sculpture and ancient art.
During his tenure at the Frick, Wardropper led a $290 million capital campaign for the renovation, of which about 83 percent — $242 million — has been raised so far.
He also expanded the board of trustees from 18 to 24 (there are three Frick descendants and one emerita) and developed the whimsical series “Cocktails with a Curator” for YouTube – during the pandemic, which involves a crash course discussion of a work by Frick brought art to the collection with a drink related to the era. (It became a book and an international hit with many who had never been to the museum before.)
The Frick's partnership with the Ghetto Film School, now in its eighth year, connects young filmmakers with the museum's collection.
With the construction project still ongoing, Wardropper still has a lot of work to do, including moving the art and staff back to their original home and raising money for exhibitions through 2027. “It will be a very intense year,” he said.
But the director also said he is positive about how the museum continues to become more open and accessible to a broader group of visitors.
“For a lot of people, the Frick was this ivory tower with a thrown away key,” he said. “I think we unlocked it.”