Join the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce
And Patron
The Bucks County Gallery of Fine Art
www.buckscountygallery77.com

For a Special Luncheon Featuring

Author and Biographer
Martha Frick Symington Sanger

Wednesday, April 29 – Arrival: 11:30; Lunch served: Noon
Cock ‘N Bull Restaurant, Peddler’s Village, Lahaska.
Cost: $35 for Chamber Members, $45 for non-members.
RSVP by mailing or dropping off payment to the Chamber
Bailiwick #23, 252 W. Swamp Road, Doylestown

Henry Clay Frick spent his youth in southwestern PA and his maternal ancestors, the Overholts, came from Bucks County and moved to the West Overton area in the 1800’s. Eventually Frick settled in Pittsburgh and NYC, where his former residences are now museums: The Frick Art and Historical Center and The Frick Collection, respectively.

During his lifetime, especially the early 1900’s, Frick gained a stalwart reputation of being the first in line to purchase great works of art, with a discriminating eye. Whether through his travels abroad or by private acquisition, Frick accumulated stunning works from artists such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Boucher, Gainsborough, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Monet, Corot, Rousseau, Millet and Whistler. Frick’s careful selections, for remember they were to grace his homes, lead to Great Master paintings and panels placed in serene harmony alongside 18th century French furnishings and Italian Renaissance sculptures.

Into this robust artistic lifestyle entered young Martha ‘Martie’ Frick Symington (who later married Sanger), a child known for exploring her ancestor’s homes especially with her great aunt Helen Clay Frick. Or to quote Ms. Sanger from her book, “The Henry Clay Frick Houses:” “The finest treat was viewing Jan van Eyck’s ‘Virgin and Child, with Saints and Donor’ through the magnifying glass our great-aunt kept hidden in a secret panel in the Enamel Room.”
Martie Sanger is currently a resident of Maryland and in addition to writing “The Henry Clay Frick Houses,” she has also authored: “Henry Clay Frick: An Intimate Portrait,” a biography of her great-grandfather which has been called “one of the five best books detailing the lives and contributions of great philanthropists in America’s gilded age” and “Helen Clay Frick: Bittersweet Heiress,” who in 1919 inherited $38 million from her father Henry and was also a celebrated art collector and philanthropist.

During the lecture, Ms. Sanger will speak of the Frick art collection, a repository of some of the greatest masterpieces of the world today and why the collection has impacted our museums and lives. Sanger will also share the anecdotes, triumphs and challenges of Helen Clay Frick (1888-1984), who spent her colorful, controversial and remarkable life preserving her father’s legacy while forming her own undeniable contributions to society, humanity and the architectural and art worlds.  The Frick Family still has many ties to PA including the Henry Clay Frick Fine Arts and Architecture Department at the University of Pittsburgh, the Clayton House and Park in Pittsburgh and the Henry Clay Frick Birthplace located in Scottsdale and noted to be “the only pre-Civil War Mennonite Village intact in America.”

Henry and Helen Clay Frick’s mutual goal of encouraging fine art walks alongside our area’s celebration of the arts, Bucks Fever. And what better way to share our affinity by hearing of the Frick legacy first hand from a generous, articulate, ever fascinating, dynamic speaker - Martha Frick Symington Sanger.

This very special luncheon will be held at the Cock ‘N Bull Restaurant, Peddler’s Village, Lahaska with arrival at 11:30 a.m.; lunch served at Noon. Seating is limited.  Cost for the luncheon is $35 for Chamber Members, $45 for non-members. RSVP to the Chamber by dropping off or mailing  payment in advance (please write Frick luncheon in memo) to: Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce, Suite 23, 252 W. Swamp Road, Doylestown, PA, 18901.  Special Courtesies provided by Peddler’s Village (www.peddlersvillage.com) and Jill C. Yris, Freelance Writer (cjill2day@verizon.net).

*****

This event is part of the Chamber’s Bucks Fever – A Celebration of the Arts program. Founded over three decades ago, Bucks Fever augments the economic vitality of Bucks County by showcasing the region’s art, culture and history as a tourist destination. Bucks Fever is comprised of 10 major Chamber events in 10 months including the Bucks Fever Spectacular (March), Byers Art Exhibition (April); Artists’ Studio Tour (May); Brown Bag-It with the Arts (weekly musical series May-August); Excellence in Design Architectural Tour (September); the Bucks County Sculpture Show founded by Dr. Selma Burke (September), FilmFest (October). In addition to these Chamber events, the Chamber produces and distributes 50,000 copies of the popular Bucks Fever brochure that promotes hundreds of Bucks County nonprofit art, culture and history events from March – December. The Major Benefactor for the 2009 Bucks Fever series is Univest National Bank and Trust Co.