'CLARK INSPIRED' LECTURE BRINGS MICHAEL FRIED TO THE CLARK ART INSTITUTE
For Immediate Release
September 4, 2014
[Digital image available upon request]
Williamstown, MA—Michael Fried, J.R. Herbert Boone Professor of Humanities and Art History at The Johns Hopkins University, will be joined in conversation by Marc Gotlieb, director of the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art, at the Clark Art Institute on Sunday, September 14 at 3 pm. The free talk, entitled “A Promise of Happiness: On the Writing and Teaching of Art History,” is part of the free “Clark Inspired” series, featuring leading scholars and museum professionals who share a distinctive bond forged in Williamstown and at the Clark.
Fried will discuss his multifaceted career, the relationship between teaching art history and writing it, and the future of art history.
A poet, art historian, art critic, and literary critic, Fried is currently writing two books: After Caravaggio, on various Italian painters working between 1610 and 1630; and Almayer’s Face: Studies in Literary Impressionism, on a number of British and American writers between 1890 and 1914. A new collection of poems, Promesse du Bonheur, awaits publication.
ABOUT THE WILLIAMS COLLEGE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN THE HISTORY OF ART
Williams College, in cooperation with the Clark Art Institute, offers a two-year course of study leading to the degree of master of arts in the history of art. The program provides a thorough professional preparation for academic and museum careers and equips graduates of the program to pursue further study and research.
Housed at the Clark, the graduate program is exceptional in drawing upon the rich art history resources—the professional staffs, libraries, and art collections—of two institutions. Each semester, a distinguished outside scholar serves as Robert Sterling Clark Visiting Professor, offering a graduate seminar and an undergraduate lecture course. Through the work/study program every student has access to opportunities for work in a curatorial department, as a teaching or research assistant, or in the Williamstown Art Conservation Center. The curriculum includes a three-week international study tour during the first year. Selected students participate in Clark Fellows’ seminar lunches. All students receive intensive training in writing and oral presentation skills, culminating in a symposium at the end of the second year.
ABOUT THE CLARK
The Clark Art Institute is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, open to the public with more than 240,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.
The Clark opened its expanded facilities on July 4, 2014, unveiling new and enhanced spaces that accommodate the continued growth of the Institute’s programs. Included in this final stage of the project are the new 42,600-square-foot Clark Center designed by Tadao Ando Architect & Associates, expansion and renovation of the original Museum Building and the ongoing renovation of the Manton Research Center by Selldorf Architects, and a sweeping redesign of the grounds by Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architecture. The first phase of the campus expansion project was completed in 2008 with the opening of the Lunder Center at Stone Hill, a striking conservation and exhibitions facility also designed by Tadao Ando.
The Clark is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Opening season hours: Galleries open daily from July 4 through October 13, 2014, 10 am to 5 pm (Tuesdays until 6 pm and Fridays until 7 pm in July and August). From October 14, 2014 through June 30, 2015: Galleries open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $20 through October 31, 2014 and free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. For more information, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.
Press contact:
Amanda Powers
The Clark
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413 458 0471