The Frick Collection Plans a Sculpture Garden

Priceless sculptures and ceramics will soon have their own gallery space at the Frick Collection.

Plans to enclose the museum's Fifth Avenue Garden at its 1 East 70th Street location were approved by Community Board 8 Wednesday.

Construction will begin in the fall pending approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

"With the creation of this new gallery, we will be able to present together significant examples of sculpture that are currently scattered throughout the institution in hallways and in galleries dominated by paintings," Margot Bogert, chair of the board of trustees, said in a statement.

The garden, which has never been open to the public, currently serves as a smoking area during museum parties, said Ann Poulet, director of the collection at the Community Board meeting.

Architects from Davis Brody Bond Aedas Architects and Planners will build the enclosure with highly transparent glass. Museum officials said the renovation would remain true to the Frick Mansion's original Carrere and Hastings design.

When it is finished in September 2011, the portico will feature sculptures including Jean-Antoine Hudon's life-size work, "Diana the Huntress." The space will also display porcelain ceramics from the Royal Manufactory at Sevres.

The museum's benefactor, Henry Clay Frick, focused mainly on collecting paintings, but began acquiring sculpture toward the end of his life. His daughter, Helen Clay Frick, added to that collection.

A private foundation will finance the construction of the enclosure, Poulet said.

The Frick Collection

The Frick Collection features works from Titian, Johannes Vermeer and Thomas Gainsborough, among other artists at the formerly private home of 19th-century industrialist, Henry Clay Frick. The museum, located at 1 East 70th Street, is preparing to construct a new Sculpture Garden on the premises.