For Immediate Release
February 12, 2025
CLARK ART INSTITUTE RESEARCH AND ACADEMIC PROGRAM PRESENTS LECTURE BY MARJORIE
(HOLLY) TRUSTED ON THE GREAT SPANISH
SCULPTOR LUISA ROLDÁN
Williamstown, Massachusetts—On Tuesday, March 4, the Clark Art Institute’s Research and Academic Program presents a talk by Marjorie (Holly) Trusted (University of Glasgow, Scotland / Center for Spain in America Fellow) titled “Who Was Luisa Roldán?” This free event takes place at 5:30 pm in the Manton Research Center auditorium.
In recent years, the extraordinary wood and terracotta sculptures of Luisa Roldán (1652–1706) have attracted much attention; a number have been acquired by major museums in the United States. However, questions of attribution and her own identity as an artist can be complex. Her training and stylistic development in Seville and Cádiz, as well as her later activity at the court in Madrid, reveal a web of interconnections. She nevertheless remains an enigmatic figure; her statues and groups arguably affected the evolution of sculpture in baroque Spain, yet many details of her life are still unknown. As a woman sculptor, she was clearly exceptional. This lecture discusses her work, as well as the challenges of studying such an artist, many of whose works are still in enclosed convents in Spain.
Marjorie (Holly) Trusted, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (London), was the longstanding senior curator of sculpture at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London until 2019. She has published and lectured widely on sculpture. Currently a Senior Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow, she was previously Senior Research Fellow at Durham University in England (2022–23). Trusted is collaborating with specialist Catherine Hall-van den Elsen on a scholarly study of the Spanish baroque sculptor Luisa Roldán. At the Clark, Trusted will continue her work on Roldán.
Free. Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524. A 5 pm reception in the Manton Research Center reading room precedes the event. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events. Admission to the Clark is free January through March 2025.
The next Research and Academic Program lecture is presented by Annie Bourneuf (School of the Art Institute of Chicago / Clark Professor 2024–25), who investigates one of the most enigmatic passages in the German-Jewish art historian Aby Warburg’s picture-atlas Mnemosyne. That event takes place on Tuesday, March 18 at 5:30 pm in the Manton Research Center auditorium.
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 nearly 300,000 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. Admission is free to all from January through March and is $20 from March through December; admission is free year-round for Clark members, all visitors age 21 and under, and students with a valid student ID. Free admission is also 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.
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