Clark Art Institute

Clark Art Institute

The Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute, usually referred to simply as "The Clark", is an art museum with a large and varied collection located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. Along with the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MassMoCA) and the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA), it forms a trio of significant art museums and resources in the north of The Berkshires. In June 2008 it expanded with the addition of the Stone Hill Center, a 32,000-square-foot (3,000 m²) building designed by Tadao Ando on a nearby wooded hillside that contains exhibition space and a conservation studio.^[1]

The Clarks

"The Clark" was created by entrepreneur, soldier, explorer, and prominent art collector Robert Sterling Clark, and his wife, Francine. After numerous adventures in the Far East, Sterling settled in Paris in 1911 and used a considerable fortune inherited from his grandfather (a principal in the Singer sewing machine company) to begin a private art collection. Francine joined him in collecting after they married in 1919.

The collection

At first, the Clarks concentrated on Italian, Dutch, and Flemish Old Master paintings. Eventually, their interests turned to more recent artists and they developed a great affinity for the works of John Singer Sargent, Edgar Degas, Winslow Homer, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. After 1920, the Clarks focused mainly on the art of 19th century France — specifically works of Impressionism and the Barbizon School.

Over the ensuing 35 years, they amassed a collection of stunning quality and breadth. It included paintings, porcelain, silver, prints, and drawings from the 14th to the 19th century, by both famous and completely obscure artists.

Creating a museum

The Clarks kept their collection entirely private, rarely lending out any works. By the late 1940s, however, they became worried about the safety of their artwork. With the onset of the Cold War and rapid nuclear armament, they wanted to protect their collection from the possibility of an attack on New York City, where they lived and the home of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (which many had expected to be the heir to the Clarks' collection). The Clarks began looking at sites in rural New York and Massachusetts with the intention of founding a museum for their art.

They visited Williamstown, Massachusetts in 1949 and began having conversations with town leader and the administrators of Williams College and the Williams College Museum of Art. Sterling had ties to the college through his grandfather and father, both of whom had been trustees. A charter for the Clark was signed on March 14, 1950 and the Institute opened to the public on May 17, 1955.

The Clark today

Since 1955, the Clark has continued to acquire artworks, with a recent focus on expanding its photography collection. Today, it is best known for works of French Impressionism, especially the paintings of Renoir, and a fine collection of British and American silver.

The Institute has become a significant destination for tourists, art lovers, and scholars. It has helped establish the great cultural reputation of The Berkshires.

The Clark offers a wide range of educational programs and opportunities. In addition to artwork, it houses a major art conservation center and art history library. Relations with Williams College continue to be friendly and students from the college are admitted for free. It also co-sponsors the College's famed graduate program in the history of art, from which many current museum curators graduated. The Institute sponsors a number of fellowships, lectures, colloquia, conferences, and performing arts programs every year.

Recently, the Clark has retained the services of famous architect Tadao Ando to design a major addition to the current buildings and campus.

References

1. ^ October 2008 Forbes Life page 50

External links

• Clark Art Institute Website
• Catalog of the Library of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
• The Clark: Celebrating 50 Years of Art in Nature, website of the exhibition and celebration of the Clark's 50th anniversary. Includes links to the 50 Favorites, the fifty favorites works in the collection selected by visitors.

Coordinates: 42°42′28″N 73°12′49″W / 42.70778°N 73.21361°W / 42.70778; -73.21361