Frick Set To Expand With Portico for New Gallery

By [Allen Houston] The Frick Collection moved one step closer to fulfilling its dream of building an enclosed sculpture and decorative arts gallery. At its June 16 meeting, Community Board 8 overwhelmingly approved a plan for the museum to create a covered portico to house such a gallery. This was followed June 23 with a unanimous vote of approval by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The new portico will be built in the museum"s Fifth Avenue Garden, a part of the Frick property that is currently not open to the public. The addition will contain classic sculptures and rare porcelains. â??Right now, the area isn"t being used as anything other than an occasional spot for smokers whenever we have parties, said Anne L. Poulet, director of the Frick Collection. The portico will be highly transparent and set back from the original limestone columns and cornice, fitting in with the architecture of the museum. It will add 665 feet of gallery space to the museum. â??Henry Clay Frick stipulated that we care for the house and collection as it evolved over time and this portico will help us do that, she said. Work on the portico is expected to start in the fall and be completed in September 2011. Carl Krebs, architect with Davis Brody Bond Aedas Architects and Planners, who will build the portico, said that it will fit naturally with the East Side community. â??It represents a minimal, modest and incremental change to the appearance of the museum, he said. A private foundation will fund the building of the portico gallery and the museum is currently raising funds to support the additional costs of maintaining the new gallery space. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="540" caption="Plans for the proposed portico."][/caption]