Helen Clay Frick (1888-1984), was the third child of Henry Clay Frick and his wife, Adelaide Howard Childs. She grew up at Clayton and retained a fondness for her childhood home throughout her life. Although the family moved to New York in 1905, Helen requested that her debutante party be held in Pittsburgh - and so it was, in 1908.

Helen shared her father’s interest in art. As a young woman she began assembling her own collection, increasing her acquisitions in the 1960s in preparation for the opening of The Frick Art Museum in 1970. Before her death, Helen made plans for the opening of Clayton as a house museum. The Frick Art & Historical Center is her legacy to her hometown. Part home, part museum, the Center provides fresh interpretations of the social history of 19th-century Pittsburgh and provocative exhibitions of fine and decorative art.