CLARK ART INSTITUTE LECTURE EXPLORES ‘RIVALRY AND RESOLVE’ AMONG WOMEN ARTISTS IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY FRANCE

June 29, 2018

Williamstown, Massachusetts—Jane R. Becker, collections management associate at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, presents the free lecture “Rivalry and Resolve: Marie Bashkirtseff and Louise Breslau in Late Nineteenth-century Paris” at the Clark Art Institute on Saturday, July 14 at 11 am. The lecture will be held in the Clark’s auditorium, located in the Manton Research Center.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, Paris attracted women artists from around the world, drawn to the city’s academies, museums, studios, and salons. Becker discusses the often-overlooked work of these artists, as well as the obstacles they faced during their careers. She focuses on artists Marie Bashkirtseff (Ukrainian, 1858–1884) and Louise-Catherine Breslau (Swiss, 1856–1927), both featured in the special exhibition Women Artists in Paris, 1850–1900, on view at the Clark through September 3, 2018.

ABOUT JANE R. BECKER

Jane R. Becker studied art history at Williams College and New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts, where she completed a PhD with a dissertation on the interaction of painting and sculpture in the work of Auguste Rodin, Medardo Rosso, and Eugène Carrière. She joined the collections department at The Met in early 2015 after many years as a lecturer for the museum, and she conducts research on the nineteenth-century European paintings collection.

In addition to contributing to the Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible exhibition catalogue, she has published several essays in catalogues and journals on painting, sculpture, and photography of the period. Those essays include “Auguste Rodin and Photography: Extending the Sculptural Idiom” and “Medardo Rosso: Photographing Sculpture and Sculpting Photography” in The Artist and the Camera: Degas to Picasso by Dorothy Kosinski (Dallas Museum of Art, 1999) and “Elegance and Opulence: Art of the Gilded Age” in Elegance and Opulence: Art of the Gilded Age (Bruce Museum, 1999). She is also co-editor, with Gabriel P. Weisberg, of Overcoming All Obstacles: The Women of the Académie Julian (Dahesh Museum and Rutgers University Press, 1999).

ABOUT THE CLARK

The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, 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, consisting of more than 270,000 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, which has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide, is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm; open daily in July and August. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. Free admission is available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; EBT Card to Culture; Bank of America Museums on Us; and Blue Star Museums. For more information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.

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