On the occasion of the Frick’s special exhibition of five Old Master paintings from the Norton Simon Museum, Carol Togneri focused on Simon’s acquisitive habits, his wide-ranging tastes in art, and the ambition that drove him to amass a collection of masterpieces. This lecture was delivered on February 11, 2009 in conjunction with Masterpieces of European Painting from the Norton Simon Museum, on display at The Frick Collection from February 10 through May 10, 2009. The Frick Collection was pleased to present a selection of five masterpieces of European painting from the highly acclaimed Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California. The exhibition afforded New York and East Coast audiences the occasion to see superb masterworks from the collections of the Norton Simon Art Foundation and The Norton Simon Foundation, a very special opportunity as both institutions generally do not allow their works to travel. None of these artists is represented in the Frick’s collection, and the outstanding quality of each of these Old Master paintings made them well suited to be viewed in the company of the Frick’s works. For information about the exhibition, see: http://www.frick.org/exhibitions/nortonsimon/. This is the first in a joint collaboration between the two institutions: The Frick Collection's painting by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres of the Comtesse d'Haussonville, from 1845 was on display at the Norton Simon Museum of Art in Pasadena, California during the fall of 2009.