CLARK ART INSTITUTE DIRECTOR OLIVIER MESLAY PRESENTS LECTURE COMPARING ARTISTS J. M. W. TURNER AND JOHN CONSTABLE

December 17, 2018
[Digital image available upon request]

Williamstown, Massachusetts—Olivier Meslay, Hardymon Director of the Clark Art Institute, presents the free lecture “Turner and Constable: Stark Contrasts” on Sunday, January 6 at 3 pm. The talk will be held in the auditorium, located in the Manton Research Center.

Meslay highlights differences in the lives and works of J. M. W. Turner (English, 1775–1851) and John Constable (English, 1776–1837), preeminent landscape painters of the nineteenth century. While both hailed from England and were associated with London’s Royal Academy—training in its schools and exhibiting in annual summer exhibitions—the two artists diverged in their choices of subjects, the way they handled paint, and their domestic priorities. Meslay discusses works on view in Turner and Constable: The Inhabited Landscape to underscore how these sometime rivals raised the status of landscape painting in distinctive ways.

Turner and Constable: The Inhabited Landscape, on view through March 10, 2019, features more than fifty paintings, drawings and watercolors, prints, and books. The works in the show are primarily drawn from the Clark’s Manton Collection of British Art, created by Sir Edwin and Lady Manton and given to the Clark by the Manton Art Foundation in 2007. This transformative gift included more than 250 oil paintings, sketches, works on paper, and prints, making the Clark a center for the study of nineteenth-century British Art.

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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