Sawt Falasteen - 'So unique': Frick Collection set to reopen in New York

"The Frick is back!" proclaimed Axel Rueger, director of the museum -- a 20th century mansion filled with paintings, sculptures, and decorative pieces dating from the Renaissance to the 19th century.

The collection of approximately 1,800 works includes works from Rembrandt, Vermeer, Whistler and Fragonard.

The top-to-bottom renovation, which cost $330 million and saw the collection temporarily transferred to another Manhattan location, features 10 new rooms on the first floor, where the family's private quarters used to be.

It also includes a new 218-seat auditorium built below the garden, and direct access to the Frick Art Library, founded a century ago by Helen Clay Frick -- the magnate's only daughter -- and converted into a global hub for art history research.

"It's been like a massive jigsaw puzzle in getting everything together and getting everything to work together," said deputy director Xavier Salomon, who proudly declared that many details had been restored to their 1935 state when the museum first opened.

Frick left the building and his art collection to be enjoyed by the public after his death in 1919.

The art enthusiast also wanted his collection to be expanded with works reflecting his interests, said Salomon.

The collection has more than doubled in size since it was first put on public display.

"Everything has to change for everything to remain the same," said Salomon.

Starting June 18, the museum will exhibit "Vermeer's Love Letters," celebrating the Dutch painter by displaying three of his most celebrated works in the same gallery for the first time -- including two special loans.

Ian Wardropper, the former director of the Frick Collection who oversaw the transformation, said "our goal and priority have always been to preserve and revitalize the experience that makes the Frick so unique."

K.Hassan--SF-PST