New York City’s Frick Collection reopened newly restored galleries and added Westmoreland Café and a new Vermeer exhibition. The newly built additions follow a multiyear renovation and enhancement of this unique and historic Manhattan location.

Marking the most comprehensive upgrade to the institution since its opening in 1935, the project restored the first-floor galleries and created a new suite of galleries on the second floor of the original Frick family home, welcoming the public to experience these spaces for the first time. Through repurposing existing space and including a modest addition, the renovation and enhancement significantly expands exhibition and programming spaces, including new special exhibition galleries on the museum’s first floor and a new 218-seat auditorium.

Reception Hall © The Frick

The project also included the restoration of 70th Street Garden, now visible from multiple views throughout the building. Frick Art Research Library and its refurbished reading rooms reopened concurrently with the museum, with new entry points enabling seamless integration of the institution’s two branches.

The museum’s new first-floor special exhibition galleries exhibit Vermeer’s Love Letters, which continues the Frick’s tradition of focused presentations that re-examine masterworks from the permanent collection. The Vermeer exhibition runs until Aug. 31.

“Woman Writing a Letter with Her Maid” by Johannes Vermeer © National Gallery of Ireland

“The reopening of the Frick marks an exciting moment in the trajectory of this storied cultural institution,” said Axel Rüger, the Frick’s Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen director. “With the return of the Frick’s masterworks to their revitalized home, we welcome visitors to rediscover the beauty, intimacy, and scholarship that have defined the Frick for nearly a century and that we hope will inspire generations of visitors to come.”

To inaugurate the museum’s new first-floor Ronald S. Lauder Exhibition Galleries, three works by Vermeer will be presented through Sept. 8. The unprecedented installation of paintings united in Vermeer’s Love Letters pairs the Frick’s Mistress and Maid with special loans of the Rijksmuseum’s “Love Letter” and National Gallery of Ireland’s “Woman Writing a Letter, with Her Maid.” Their presentation, together in a single gallery for the first time, offers visitors an opportunity to consider Vermeer’s treatment of the theme of letters and his depiction of women of different social classes.

Westmoreland © William Jess Laird

Westmoreland, the first café at its Fifth Avenue home, is a newly built addition, and a highlight of the museum’s revitalized visitor experience. Located on the second floor of the expansion, the intimate café takes its name from the private Pullman train car the Frick family used, beginning in 1911, to travel between their homes in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and farther afield. The café features an interior design by Bryan O’Sullivan Studio and a bespoke mural by artist Darren Waterston, with custom furnishings, including bespoke walnut tables with brass detailing and upholstered wooden dining chairs, as well as a polished walnut bar with cast-glass finishes.

Westmoreland offers an all-day, table-service menu conceived by Union Square Events. The café has about 50 seats and is offered as an amenity for museum ticket holders and members. Visitors can make same-day reservations on site at the museum. Westmoreland is open during regular museum hours.

Westmoreland © Joseph Coscia

The Frick has also commissioned a series of works by noted sculptor Vladimir Kanevsky, displayed throughout the galleries upon the museum’s reopening and meant to evoke the fresh floral bouquets throughout the Frick’s galleries when the museum first opened in 1935. Known for his life-like porcelain plants and flowers, Kanevsky has exhibited in museums around the world. The presentation will remain on view through Oct. 6.