The Frick Collection Records of the Organizing Director - Frederick Mortimer Clapp

The Frick Collection was founded by the industrialist and art collector, Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919), who bequeathed his home, furnishings and works of art to the public for the purpose of "establishing and maintaining a gallery of art." According to the terms of the will, probated in 1919, a Board of Trustees, selected by Mr. Frick, would form a corporation to be known as "The Frick Collection." The Trustees administered an endowment fund of fifteen million dollars, to be used for the maintenance, security, and eventual expansion of the house and growth of the art collection. The residence was to remain the home of Mrs. Adelaide Frick during her lifetime.

After Mrs. Frick's death in 1931, the Trustees appointed a Committee on Organization and Policy to make decisions regarding the plan to transform the residence into a public art gallery. Frederick Mortimer Clapp (1879-1969), Head of the Department of Fine Arts of the University of Pittsburgh, was asked to develop an initial plan and report back to the Committee. Pleased with the report, the Committee hired him as an adviser to the project and later appointed him Organizing Director. Mr. Clapp's association with The Frick Collection had begun in 1928, when he was asked to work on a catalogue of the Collection's art works, a project commissioned by Helen Clay Frick.

Mr. Clapp oversaw every aspect of the alterations and additions to The Frick Collection and the construction of a new Frick Art Reference Library building. Architects John Russell Pope and Delano & Aldrich both submitted plans for the project; Pope was selected in April, 1932. Clapp worked closely with the Trustees and Pope to create a public exhibition space that would retain the character of the former residence and preserve the existing architecture. He also oversaw the planning and erection of a new building for the Frick Art Reference Library, designed by John Russell Pope in a style harmonious with the existing architecture of the residence. Additions and alterations to the house included the Boucher Room, the Lecture Room, the Reception Hall, the Oval Room, the East Gallery, the Garden Court, a cloak room, and the conversion of the former private rooms of the Frick family on the second floor to offices. The new Frick Art Reference Library building was opened to readers on January 14, 1935, and on December 16 of the same year, The Frick Collection opened its doors to the public. In 1936 Frederick Mortimer Clapp became the Director of The Frick Collection, a position that he held until his retirement in 1951.

Frederick Mortimer Clapp, born in New York, received his master's degree from Yale University in 1910. Prior to receiving his master's degree, he taught Greek at City College and Elizabethan drama and Russian literature at the extension of the University of California. Mr. Clapp studied and traveled extensively in Europe, and in 1914 he received a doctorate degree in art from the University of Paris. He served as the head of the Department of Fine Arts of the University of Pittsburgh from 1926 to 1937. Among his publications are numerous volumes of poetry, and a catalogue raisonné of Pontormo's works. In 1933 he received a Doctorate of Laws degree from the University of Pittsburgh and was awarded the Townsend Harris Medal in 1942 by City College. Frederick Mortimer Clapp's professional memberships included the Association of Art Museum Directors, a Socio dell'Accademia di San Luca of Rome, and fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He died in New York City on December 15, 1969.