Clark Art Institute
Encyclopedia
Williamstown, Massachusetts
Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,754 at the 2010 census...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Along with the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, commonly referred to as MASS MoCA, is a museum in a converted factory building located in North Adams, Massachusetts, USA. It is one of the largest centers for contemporary visual art and performing arts in the country.MASS MoCA opened with 19...
(MassMoCA) and the Williams College Museum of Art
Williams College Museum of Art
The Williams College Museum of Art is a teaching museum located in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is a department of Williams College. The museum's mission is to "advance learning through lively and innovative approaches to art for the students of Williams College and communities beyond the...
(WCMA), it forms a trio of significant art museums and resources in the north of The Berkshires
The Berkshires
The Berkshires , is a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and Connecticut.Also referred to as the Berkshire Hills, Berkshire Mountains, and Berkshire Plateau, the region enjoys a vibrant tourism industry based on music, arts, and recreation.-Definition:The term...
. In June 2008 it expanded with the addition of the Stone Hill Center, a 32000 square feet (2,972.9 m²) building designed by Tadao Ando
Tadao Ando
is a Japanese architect whose approach to architecture was once categorized by Francesco Dal Co as critical regionalism. Ando has led a storied life, working as a truck driver and boxer prior to settling on the profession of architecture, despite never having taken formal training in the field...
on a nearby wooded hillside that contains exhibition space and a conservation studio.
The Clarks
"The Clark" was created by entrepreneur, soldier, explorer, and prominent art collector Robert Sterling ClarkRobert Sterling Clark
Robert Sterling Clark , heir to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune, was an American art collector, horse breeder, and philanthropist.-Biography:...
, and his wife, Francine. After numerous adventures in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
, Sterling settled in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
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 MasterOld Master
"Old Master" is a term for a European painter of skill who worked before about 1800, or a painting by such an artist. An "old master print" is an original print made by an artist in the same period...
paintings. Eventually, their interests turned to more recent artists and they developed a great affinity for the works of John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
, Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas[p] , born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism although he rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist...
, Winslow Homer
Winslow Homer
Winslow Homer was an American landscape painter and printmaker, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th century America and a preeminent figure in American art....
, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to...
. After 1920, the Clarks focused mainly on the art of 19th century France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
— specifically works of Impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
and the Barbizon School
Barbizon school
The Barbizon school of painters were part of a movement towards realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870...
.
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 WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
and rapid nuclear armament, they wanted to protect their collection from the possibility of an attack on New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where they lived and the home of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
(which many had expected to be the heir to the Clarks' collection). The Clarks began looking at sites in rural New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
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
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
and the Williams College Museum of Art
Williams College Museum of Art
The Williams College Museum of Art is a teaching museum located in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is a department of Williams College. The museum's mission is to "advance learning through lively and innovative approaches to art for the students of Williams College and communities beyond the...
. 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
Tadao Ando
is a Japanese architect whose approach to architecture was once categorized by Francesco Dal Co as critical regionalism. Ando has led a storied life, working as a truck driver and boxer prior to settling on the profession of architecture, despite never having taken formal training in the field...
to design a major addition to the current buildings and campus.
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.