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Trowel used at the cornerstone laying ceremony for the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, August 27, 1953
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Archives Project
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The Clark Archives and Records Management Project
The Library of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute has received two federal grants to preserve, organize, and make accessible the Institute’s historic records and address the two archives essential to the Clark’s permanent record. The National Historical Publications and Records Commission awarded $143,050 and the Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded $63,320, both covering a two-year period beginning in the summer of 2006. The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation awarded an additional grant to support the project, which was renewed in spring of 2007 for the second year of the project.
From July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2008, the Clark will process the Sterling and Francine Clark Papers and the Institutional Records of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. The Sterling and Francine Clark Papers, which cover the period 1901–1957 and total ca. 112 linear feet, include correspondence, diaries with entries related to art purchases, records of early appraisals of works of art, receipts, and Stereodrome glass plates. The Institutional Record of the Clark, for the period 1950–1994, includes historical materials related to the Clarks’ decision to locate their collection in Williamstown; founding documents, such as incorporation papers, early board minutes, and engineering studies and architectural plans; and records that document a fifty-year history of the Clark, including its governance, collections, exhibitions, and the development of the Clark Library and its research and academic program.
The primary objectives of the project are to:
- Process the personal papers of Sterling and Francine Clark, including the preparation of a collection-level catalog record and an EAD finding aid
- Process the institutional records of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, including the preparation of a collection-level catalog record and an EAD finding aid
- Prepare a preservation plan
- Create a records management policy to ensure that records continue to be transferred to the archives in the future
The Clark permanent record will be important to museum studies scholars of the future, who may be interested in the historical, cultural, and social forces that shaped the highly personal collecting interests of Sterling and Francine Clark; the establishment of an internationally significant public art museum and research center in a remote area of western Massachusetts; and the transition of a private art collection into an important cultural and educational resource for the year-round local community, seasonal visitors from throughout the world, and national and international scholars.
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