**New Date!** DCA Art Lectures Series concludes Dec 14th with “Helen Clay Frick: Charting Her Own Course as a Collector”

The Darien Community Association has been hosting speakers from The Frick Collection as part of its annual fall Art Lectures Series, now in its 51st year.  Sponsored by SBD Kitchens, LLC in Darien, CT, the lectures highlight scholarship and stories, delivered by the curators from the venerable Gilded Age mansion and museum on Fifth Avenue in New York.

Inge Reist Ph.D., Director, Center for the History of Collecting and the Frick Art Reference Library will discuss “Helen Clay Frick: Charting Her Own Course as a Collector” on Thursday, December 14th at 11 AM. 

Helen was the only surviving and adored daughter of her father.  As young as eight, her father solicited her opinions about the masterpieces he was considering to purchase and add to his collection.  Helen, even as a little girl, was quite articulate in detailing the specifics about her preferences on acquisition.  By the time she was 17, she had already been to Europe nine times on her father’s art tours, keeping meticulous records of everything they saw and the buildings where it was located.   

Not a typical wealthy American on the Grand Tour (looking for a husband), she visited and returned to important historical sites and repositories of fine art to review, study, and often reassess to come up with her own opinions on a work of art.  Empowered and independent, she took her fascination with archives and created the Frick Art Reference Library.  A decades-long endeavor initially modeled after The National Gallery in London, it is the largest and most comprehensive repository of documents and images used by art historians in the United States.

Tickets for individual lectures are available for $20.  A gourmet luncheon provided by Marcia Selden Caterers will be available immediately following the lectures in the Garden Wing of the Darien Community Association.  Single lecture/luncheon price is $40. Seating is limited.  Reservations are required for all luncheons.  Contact the DCA at 203-655-9050 or info@dariendca.org for more information.   The Darien Community Association, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located on 274 Middlesex Road in Darien, Connecticut.   

The Darien Community Association provides a unique community home in a welcoming setting, with stimulating learning and outreach experiences for the enrichment of the community.  To receive news of upcoming DCA events, please email info@dariendca.org or like us on Facebook. View details of all DCA programs at dariendca.org/