‘THE ART OF THE MEAL’ AT CLARK ART INSTITUTE OFFERS UNIQUE DINING EXPERIENCE, PRIVATE EXHIBITION TOURS

July 12, 2018
[Digital image available upon request]

Williamstown, Massachusetts—The interplay between cuisine and art takes center stage at the Clark Art Institute’s “The Art of the Meal,” a special dining experience inspired by the Clark’s summer exhibitions, Women Artists in Paris, 1850–1900 and The Art of Iron: Objects from the Musée Le Secq des Tournelles, Rouen, Normandy. The event takes place Friday, August 10 from 6–9 pm.

Culinary guru Darra Goldstein and STARR Catering Executive Chef Daniel Hardy present a narrated meal exploring Europe’s rich and varied gastronomic traditions—and the ways in which France inspired chefs and painters alike at a time when Paris was the epicenter of both the art and food worlds.

The evening begins with private after-hours tours of both exhibitions, led by curators Esther Bell and Kathleen Morris. Goldstein then guides guests through a six-course dinner that offers an intimate and exclusive experience inspired by the art and artists represented in the exhibitions. Tastes of Scandinavia, Switzerland, England, America, and Russia are filtered through the lens of French haute cuisine.

The menu includes wild mushroom toasts, smoked trout with lemon skyr on rye, Bündnerfleisch, summer fruit soup with red wine, salmon coulibiac, and roast duck with red currant sauce, baby beets, cucumber salad, and rösti. Specialty desserts include île flottante (floating island) and mini cream puffs with chocolate.

Tickets are $250 per person and may be ordered online at clarkart.edu or by calling the box office at 413 458 0524. Seating is very limited; please reserve early.

ABOUT DARRA GOLDSTEIN

Darra Goldstein is the Willcox B. and Harriet M. Adsit Professor of Russian, Emerita at Williams College and Founding Editor of Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture, named the 2012 Publication of the Year by the James Beard Foundation. She has published widely on literature, culture, art, and cuisine and has organized several exhibitions, including Graphic Design in the Mechanical Age and Feeding Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table, 1500–2005, both at the Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. In addition to serving as Editor in Chief of the James Beard-nominated Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, she is the author of five cookbooks.

Goldstein is Series Editor of California Studies in Food and Culture (University of California Press) and has consulted for the Council of Europe as part of an international group exploring ways in which food can be used to promote tolerance and diversity. She was the national spokesperson for Stolichnaya vodka when it was first introduced to the United States. Goldstein completed her undergraduate work at Vassar College and holds a PhD from Stanford University.

She currently serves on the Kitchen Cabinet of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and on the Advisory Board of the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts.

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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