Dr. Henry Clay Frick II

FRICK
DR. HENRY CLAY, II
Henry Clay Frick II, Trustee of the Frick Collection for 50 years and President of its Board for 35 years, a noted physician and medical professor at Columbia University, died at his home in New Jersey on Friday, February 9th. Dr. Frick was born on October 19, 1919 in New York, the son of Frances Dixon Frick and Childs Frick, the paleontologist and art patron. He was the sole grandson and namesake of Henry Clay Frick, the Pittsburgh industrialist, financier, art collector and founder of the Frick Collection in New York. Dr. Frick graduated from St. Paul's School ('38), Princeton University ('42) and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University (44'). He then served in the US Army Medical Corp. and was stationed in Germany during the immediate post World War II period. Later in life he was awarded three certificates for meritorious service as a volunteer field surgeon in Viet Nam. "Clay", as he was known, became Professor of Clinical Obstetrics at Columbia University and was an oncologist on the staff of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. In addition to Columbia, he taught at Memorial Hospital, as it was then known, and other hospitals and universities, including the University of Beirut in Lebanon. Dr. Frick's interest in drug abuse was acknowledged by the George Washington Honor Medal Award for his book, Drug Abuse in the Modern World, co-authored with Gabriel Nahas, M.D. Dr. Frick devoted much of his time to The Frick Collection and the Frick Art Reference Library in New York. As Trustee and President, he oversaw the acquisition of many important works of art and the merger between The Frick Collection and the Frick Art Reference Library, which was founded by his aunt, Miss Helen Frick. He oversaw the addition of the Reception Hall to the Collection by the architect John Bailey, for which he was given the Arthur Ross Award for patronage by Classical America in 1982 for the best classical design in the last forty years. He, along with his sister, the late Martha Frick Symington, oversaw the creation of the 70th street garden designed by Russell Page. Dr. Frick continued his family's interest in its Pittsburgh origins when he became Chairman in 1971 of the Helen Clay Frick Foundation created by Miss Frick 1947. Through the foundation he oversaw the funding and restoration of the family's Pittsburgh home, Clayton, and its subsequent development and opening to the public as the Frick Art and Historical Center. Clay was a naturalist, fascinated by wildlife, whose great sense of exploration manifested itself in many different areas. He was a Trustee of the American Museum of Natural History, the New York Zoological Society (now known as the Wildlife Conservation Society), the Bermuda Biological Station for Research, Inc. the Caribbean Conservation Association and the North American Wildlife Foundation. Dr. Frick was a member of The Brook, The Century Association, the River Club of New York, the Racquet and Tennis Club, the New York Yacht Club, the Piping Rock Club and the Long Island Wyandanch Club. Dr. Frick was predeceased by his first wife, Jane Allison Coates, and his daughter Jane Allison Frick and is survived by his wife Emily T. duPont Frick; four children, Elise Dixon Frick, Adelaide Frick Trafton, Frances Dixon Frick (now sister Paula of the Serbian Orthodox Church) and his son Henry Clay Frick III; two step sons, Richard S. duPont Jr. and David W. duPont; five grandchildren, four step-grandchildren and one great grandchild. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the brain donation program at the Neurological Institute at Columbia University and/or the Caribbean Conservation Association. The burial service will be private. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, February 22, 2007 at St. James Church, 71st Street and Madison Avenue at 2 p.m.
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