For Immediate Release
August 18, 2022

CLARK ART INSTITUTE PRESENTS BOOK TALK WITH AUTHOR TODD LONGSTAFFE-GOWAN

Williamstown, Massachusetts—On Saturday, September 18, the Clark Art Institute hosts a book talk with Todd Longstaffe-Gowan, the renowned landscape architect and historian. Longstaffe-Gowan shares anecdotes from his new book English Garden Eccentrics: Three Hundred Years of Extraordinary Groves, Burrowings, Mountains and Menageries (Mellon/Yale, 2022) in this free talk. The event takes place live in the Clark’s auditorium and will also be broadcast simultaneously on Zoom at 2 pm. 

Longstaffe-Gowan introduces a cast of obscure and eccentric English garden-makers who created intensely personal and idiosyncratic gardens between the early seventeenth and early twentieth centuries. With tales of miniature mountains, intriguingly shaped topiaries, exotic animals, excavated caves, and assembled architectural fragments, Longstaffe-Gowan highlights the follies and foibles of that personified these gardens and their makers.

Todd Longstaffe-Gowan is an internationally acclaimed landscape architect with a practice based in London. He is gardens adviser to Historic Royal Palaces, lecturer at New York University (London), president of the London Gardens Trust, editor of The London Gardener and author of several other books including The London Town Garden (Yale, 2001) and The London Square (Yale, 2012). He has developed and implemented long-term landscape management plans for the National Trust (Swindon, United Kingdom), English Heritage (Swindon, United Kingdom), and a wide range of private owners in the United Kingdom and around the world. Longstaffe-Gowan has had extensive input in the conservation and redevelopment of a variety of historic landscapes in London, including the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace Gardens, and the Crown Estate.

No registration is needed to attend the live event, but registration is required for the Zoom transmission. Registrants will receive an email with a private Zoom link to this live virtual program before the event. For more information and to register, visit clarkart.edu/events. 

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 285,000 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. Its 140-acre campus includes miles of hiking and walking trails through woodlands and meadows, providing an exceptional experience of art in nature. Galleries are open 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Sunday, from September through June, and daily in July and August. Advance tickets are strongly recommended. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, all visitors age 21 and under, and students with a valid student ID. Free admission is available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; and EBT Card to Culture. For information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303. 

Use of facemasks is optional for all visitors. For details on health and safety protocols, visit clarkart.edu/health.

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