Henry Clay Frick, who had risen from modest circumstances in Westmoreland County, Pa., to become one of America’s most influential and wealthy men, fully intended Helen’s debut to take place in New York City. It was there, he insisted, that she would be presented as one of the most refined and eligible young women of the year. She anticipated her father’s plan with dread, for she had seen 6
many an accomplished debutant marry soon thereafter and promptly relinquish her individual influence or become the pocketbook spouse of a cash-poor European royal. Helen Frick had something else in mind: to make her debut at her beloved Clayton among her dearest friends. The very idea of a Pittsburgh debut outraged Frick so much that he refused to consider it. And so it was that Helen developed her plan to stand up to a man who was accustomed to being the person who gives the orders.
This time, Miss Frick would have her way.
Frick Park’s Enduring Legacy: A Treasure by Design
Helen Clay Frick (far right) with friends at her Pittsburgh debut, December 1908
Helen, the daughter of Adelaide and Henry Clay Frick, yearned for Clayton, the family’s original residence in Pittsburgh. Clayton seemed much more like home than did the gilded mansion in New York. And Helen fervently wished to evade her father’s plans to present her to New York society in a lavish debutant ball in early 1909.
Portrait of Helen Clay Frick taken around the time of her debut, 1908 Images courtesy of The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Archives
Miss Helen C. Frick of New York City, age 20, wanted desperately to depart for Pittsburgh.
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