In this week’s episode of “Cocktails with a Curator,” celebrate the Yuletide with Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon as he takes a closer look at Lazzaro Bastiani’s “Adoration of the Magi.” Acquired from Pierpont Morgan’s heirs in 1935—the year The Frick Collection opened to the public—this fascinating picture shows the gift-toting kings on different stages of their journey from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. A contemporary of Giovanni Bellini, Bastiani was considered the artist’s equal at the time and commanded similar prices for his pictures. Explore the work of this magnificent but under-appreciated artist while enjoying a festive Cranberry Bourbon cocktail—Merry Christmas!
Lazzaro Bastiani was an Italian painter of the Renaissance, active mainly in Venice. He was born in Padua. He is first recorded as a painter in Venice by 1460 in a payment for an altarpiece of San Samuele, for the Procuratori di San Marco. In 1462 he was paid at the same rate as Giovanni Bellini.
In the final episode of “Travels with a Curator,” journey just 370 miles west of New York to explore The Frick Pittsburgh with Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon. A beautiful property where visitors may enjoy both modern galleries and the Frick family home, The Frick Pittsburgh houses works of art and personal objects that provide an intimate look at the lives of the Frick family, from bedrooms with house slippers to children’s rooms with toys. The Frick Pittsburgh is in many ways a testament to the vision of Henry Clay Frick’s daughter, Helen, who always considered Pittsburgh to be her home and established the complex as a legacy to her hometown.
In this week’s episode of “Travels with a Curator,” explore the history of St. James’s Park with Curator Aimee Ng. This popular attraction in London serves as the backdrop for Thomas Gainsborough’s “Mall in St. James’s Park,” which he painted about 1783 for George III. Originally a cockleshell-strewn court for playing pall-mall, a precursor of croquet, the Mall was a place of visual encounters, where fashionable 18th-century Londoners (and their pets) could see and be seen.
In this week’s episode of “Cocktails with a Curator,” examine one of the Frick’s recent acquisitions, the Sèvres “Vase Japon,” with Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon. A unique interpretation of a Chinese (not Japanese) bronze vase from the Han Dynasty, the object represents the 18th-century influence of China on European porcelain design. This week’s program is paired with a Long Island Iced Tea.
In this week’s episode of “Travels with a Curator,” join Xavier F. Salomon, Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, on an excursion to one of his favorite places in the world, Villa Barbaro in Maser, Italy. Designed in the sixteenth century by Andrea Palladio, the villa is decorated floor to ceiling with magnificent frescoes by Paolo Veronese. The Frick is home to two allegorical paintings by Veronese that he produced in the 1560s, shortly after completing his work on the villa.
In this week’s episode of “Cocktails with a Curator,” join Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon as he explores the royal provenance of two pieces of furniture at the Frick made by Jean-Henri Riesener. Sometimes overlooked by visitors, Xavier encourages us to take a closer look at this exquisite commode and secrétaire set. In celebration of these works of art and the upcoming Bastille Day, this week’s complementary cocktail is the Kir Royale.
In this week’s episode of “Travels with a Curator,” Xavier F. Salomon, Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, transports us to the Japanisches Palais (Japanese Palace) in Dresden, the original home of the Meissen “Great Bustard.” Augustus II rebuilt and enlarged the Japanese Palace to showcase his extraordinary collection of porcelain, but he died before the project was completed. This exquisite porcelain masterpiece became part of the Frick’s collection through the generosity of the late collector Henry H. Arnhold (1921–2018).
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