“In the first show to be held in The Frick Collection’s new Ronald S. Lauder Exhibition Galleries, three works by Johannes Vermeer will be presented from June 18 through August 31, 2025. The unprecedented installation Vermeer’s Love Letters unites the Frick’s iconic Mistress and Maid with two special loans: The Love Letter from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, and Woman Writing a Letter with Her Maid from the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin. Displayed together in a single gallery for the first time, this trio of works will offer visitors the opportunity to consider Vermeer’s exploration of the theme of letter writing and epistolary exchange in the context of the seventeenth-century domestic settings for which the artist is renowned.” — The Frick Collection
35 1/2 x 31 in. (90.2 x 78.7 cm). The Frick Collection, New York. Photo: Joseph Coscia Jr..
17 5/16 x 15 3/16 in. (44 x 38.5 cm). Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt.
ca. 1670–72. Oil on canvas. 28 x 23 13/16 in. (71.1 x 60.5 cm). National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin; presented by Sir Alfred and Lady Beit, 1987 (Beit Collection). Image © National Gallery of Ireland.
Stated Axel Rüger, the Frick’s Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Director, “This is the first exhibition in New York City since 2001 dedicated to works by Vermeer, one of the most famous artists in the world. We are excited to present this unprecedented examination of a fascinating aspect of the artist’s oeuvre in our new gallery space, designed by Selldorf Architects. We thank guest curator Dr. Robert Fucci, a distinguished scholar of seventeenth-century Dutch art from the University of Amsterdam, for his work on the show and the accompanying catalogue. For his role in securing exceptional support and much more, all due credit and heartfelt thanks go to my esteemed predecessor, Ian Wardropper, along with Xavier F. Salomon, Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, and Aimee Ng, John Updike Curator, for their essential contributions.”
Added Salomon, “On the heels of the museum’s public reopening on April 17, it is fitting that we are debuting our new special exhibition galleries with a closer look at the work of Vermeer, one of the most popular artists in our collection. His Mistress and Maid is the final masterpiece that museum founder Henry Clay Frick acquired before his death, making this inaugural show a particularly appropriate tribute to his legacy as a collector.”
Title image: Gallery view of Vermeer’s Love Letters at The Frick Collection, June 18 through August 21, 2025. Photo by Joseph Coscia Jr.
Images courtesy The Frick Collection.
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