Robert Sterling Clark
Encyclopedia
Robert Sterling Clark heir to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune, was an American art collector, horse breeder
, and philanthropist
.
and during the Boxer rebellion
, where he served under General Smedley Butler
.
Following his graduation from Yale University
, Clark visited Paris
, France
and over the years would return there frequently, eventually maintaing a residence there. In Paris, he met actress Francine Clary whom he married in 1919.
He owned several residences: New York City, Cooperstown, New York
, "Sundridge Farm" in Upperville, Virginia
, and Paris, France.
's Girl Crocheting, in 1916. He and his wife Francine (1876–1960) continued to collect art rapidly and towards the end of their lives established their collection as a museum near the campus of Williams College
in Williamstown Mass. They did this after originally making plans with his brothers Stephen Carlton Clark
and F. Ambrose Clark
to combine their collections in a single art museum in Cooperstown.
After a falling out among the brothers, Sterling not only cancelled such plans but also withdrew his share of the family fortune from the collective trust. He established his own foundation and sold off or donated all of his property holdings in Cooperstown. He donated the Ernest Flagg
designed neoclassic YMCA building commissioned by his mother, Elizabeth Scriven Clark, in 1898 to the village in 1932, and it now houses village offices, the library and the Cooperstown Art Association. Almost no communication between Stephen and Sterling occurred again.
Over the next five decades he and his wife collected numerous paintings by Renoir, plus dozens of paintings, sculptures and pastels by other Impressionist artists.
The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
in Williamstown, Massachusetts
opened its doors to the public in 1955. According to TIME
magazine, "In building their $3,000,000 Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, the Clarks ignored costs (Local boosters boast that the marble for the new museum was the biggest single order in Vermont since the U.S. Supreme Court.) but insisted on quality." Works in the collection included over 30 Renoirs as well as Dutch, Spanish and American painters such as Winslow Homer
, Goya, Frans Hals
, and Degas.
into Shaanxi
and then to Kansu provinces of China
. He recruited the explorer Arthur de Carle Sowerby
as naturalist
for the trip, later publishing a book with Sowerby about the expedition entitled Through Shên-kan: the account of the Clark expedition in north China, 1908-9..
He established the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation which operates today from offices at 135 East 64th St., New York City.
, Current, was voted the 1928 retrospective American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. The most noted horse owned and bred by Mr. Clark was Never Say Die
(1951–1975), a Kentucky
bred chestnut colt. Raced in England, he won the 1954 Epsom Derby
at odds of at 33 to 1. He was ridden by 18-year-old Lester Piggott
, the youngest jockey to ever win the Derby. Never Say Die went also won the Rosslyn Stakes (ENG) and St. Leger Stakes
(Gr.1). Upon retirement, Clark gifted the horse to the National Stud.
Following his marriage, Sterling Clark's interest in horses waned considerably. Yet he was during his lifetime most noted for being a successful horse owner than the private art collector he's best known as today.
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
, and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
.
Biography
Known by his middle name, Sterling Clark served in the military in the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and during the Boxer rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
, where he served under General Smedley Butler
Smedley Butler
Smedley Darlington Butler was a Major General in the U.S. Marine Corps, an outspoken critic of U.S. military adventurism, and at the time of his death the most decorated Marine in U.S...
.
Following his graduation from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, Clark visited 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...
, 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...
and over the years would return there frequently, eventually maintaing a residence there. In Paris, he met actress Francine Clary whom he married in 1919.
He owned several residences: New York City, Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...
, "Sundridge Farm" in Upperville, Virginia
Upperville, Virginia
Upperville is an unincorporated community in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States, located along U.S. Route 50 fifty miles from downtown Washington, D.C.. Founded in the 1790s along Pantherskin Creek, it was originally named Carrstown by first settler Josephus Carr...
, and Paris, France.
Art collecting
Sterling Clark purchased his first Impressionist painting, Pierre-Auguste RenoirPierre-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...
's Girl Crocheting, in 1916. He and his wife Francine (1876–1960) continued to collect art rapidly and towards the end of their lives established their collection as a museum near the campus 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...
in Williamstown Mass. They did this after originally making plans with his brothers Stephen Carlton Clark
Stephen Carlton Clark
Stephen Carlton Clark, Sr. DSM, was an American art collector, newspaper publisher, benefactor and founder of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.-Biography:...
and F. Ambrose Clark
F. Ambrose Clark
Frederick Ambrose Clark was an American equestrian.Clark was the son of Alfred Corning Clark and a grandson of Edward Clark, a lawyer and later 50% owner of the Singer Sewing Machine Company...
to combine their collections in a single art museum in Cooperstown.
After a falling out among the brothers, Sterling not only cancelled such plans but also withdrew his share of the family fortune from the collective trust. He established his own foundation and sold off or donated all of his property holdings in Cooperstown. He donated the Ernest Flagg
Ernest Flagg
Ernest Flagg was a noted American architect in the Beaux-Arts style. He was also an advocate for urban reform and architecture's social responsibility.-Biography:...
designed neoclassic YMCA building commissioned by his mother, Elizabeth Scriven Clark, in 1898 to the village in 1932, and it now houses village offices, the library and the Cooperstown Art Association. Almost no communication between Stephen and Sterling occurred again.
Over the next five decades he and his wife collected numerous paintings by Renoir, plus dozens of paintings, sculptures and pastels by other Impressionist artists.
The Sterling and Francine 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...
in Williamstown, Massachusetts
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...
opened its doors to the public in 1955. According to TIME
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine, "In building their $3,000,000 Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, the Clarks ignored costs (Local boosters boast that the marble for the new museum was the biggest single order in Vermont since the U.S. Supreme Court.) but insisted on quality." Works in the collection included over 30 Renoirs as well as Dutch, Spanish and American painters such as 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....
, Goya, Frans Hals
Frans Hals
Frans Hals was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He is notable for his loose painterly brushwork, and helped introduce this lively style of painting into Dutch art. Hals was also instrumental in the evolution of 17th century group portraiture.-Biography:Hals was born in 1580 or 1581, in Antwerp...
, and Degas.
1909 Expedition
He financed a 1909 Expedition which sought specimens from the Yellow RiverYellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
into Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
and then to Kansu provinces of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. He recruited the explorer Arthur de Carle Sowerby
Arthur de Carle Sowerby
Arthur de Carle Sowerby was British naturalist, explorer, writer, and publisher in China. His father was Arthur Sowerby .-Background:...
as naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
for the trip, later publishing a book with Sowerby about the expedition entitled Through Shên-kan: the account of the Clark expedition in north China, 1908-9..
He established the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation which operates today from offices at 135 East 64th St., New York City.
Horse Racing Interests
Clark raced horses in the United states and in Europe. In the United States, his fillyFilly
A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....
, Current, was voted the 1928 retrospective American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. The most noted horse owned and bred by Mr. Clark was Never Say Die
Never Say Die (horse)
Never Say Die was a Thoroughbred racehorse foaled at Jonabell Farm in the United States and trained in Great Britain who won the Epsom Derby in 1954....
(1951–1975), a Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
bred chestnut colt. Raced in England, he won the 1954 Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
at odds of at 33 to 1. He was ridden by 18-year-old Lester Piggott
Lester Piggott
Lester Keith Piggott is a retired English professional jockey, popularly known as "The Long Fellow". With 4,493 career wins, including nine Epsom Derby victories, he is one of the most well-known English flat racing jockeys of all time....
, the youngest jockey to ever win the Derby. Never Say Die went also won the Rosslyn Stakes (ENG) and St. Leger Stakes
St. Leger Stakes
The St. Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 132 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.Established in 1776, the St. Leger...
(Gr.1). Upon retirement, Clark gifted the horse to the National Stud.
Following his marriage, Sterling Clark's interest in horses waned considerably. Yet he was during his lifetime most noted for being a successful horse owner than the private art collector he's best known as today.