may 17–SEPTEMBER 4, 2006
exhibitions
The exhibitions planned for the 2005–2006 season cement the Clark's place as one of the foremost art museums and centers for research and higher education in the world. Jacques-Louis David: Empire to Exile, the must-see summer exhibition, will begin the anniversary year. Also included during the season will be Little Women, Little Men: Folk Art Portraits of Children from the Fenimore Art Museum; Hail to the Chiefs; Winslow Homer: Making Art, Making History; and The Clark Brothers Collect Renoir to Matisse, Homer to Hopper.
JACQUES-LOUIS DAVID: EMPIRE TO EXILE
Hailed as "magnificent" by the L.A. Times when it opened at the J. Paul Getty Museum this spring, Empire to Exile conquers the East Coast when it opens at the Clark during the 50 Hours celebration event. This exhibition will focus on the late career of French painter Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825), from his work for the Emperor Napoleon circa 1805 to the paintings done while the artist was exiled in Brussels near the end of his life. This is the first major exhibition in the U.S. to focus exclusively on David's late work. Ever dreamed of seeing the famed Bonaparte Crossing the Alps at Grand-Saint-Bernard in person? Here is your chance. The exhibition closes September 5, 2005.
Left: Bonaparte Crossing the Alps at Grand-Saint-Bernard, 1800-1801, by Jacques-Louis David (Musée national des Châteaux de Malmaison et Bois-Préau, Reuil-Malmaison)
Little Women, Little Men: Folk Art Portraits of Children from the Fenimore Art Museum
Just in time for Independence Day, Little Women, Little Men: Folk Art Portraits of Children from the Fenimore Art Museum opens July 4 and closes October 16, 2005. The exhibition features a dozen paintings of children by American itinerant portrait artists including Ammi Phillips, Erastus Salisbury Field, Joseph Whiting Stock, William Matthew Prior, and others, from the collection of the Fenimore Art Museum, New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, New York. These paintings were originally from the collection of Stephen Clark, brother of Clark founder Sterling Clark. The exhibition is also part of the Berkshire-wide collaboration, "American Traditions." For more on "American Traditions" in the Berkshires, visit www.berkshiresarts.org.
Left: Two Boys in Green Tunics, c. 1845, artist unknown (Fenimore Art Museum, New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown)
Hail to the Chiefs
Hail to the Chiefs, opening September 17, 2005, and closing in late spring of 2006, will see the Clark's portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart joined by two other presidential portraits by the artist (Thomas Jefferson and James Madison), on loan from Bowdoin College.
Left: George Washington, after 1796, by Gilbert Stuart (Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute)
Winslow Homer: Making Art, Making History
The Clark's extensive collection of the works of American artist Winslow Homer will be celebrated with an exhibition of paintings, watercolors, drawings, woodcuts, and photographs. Don't miss Winslow Homer: Making Art, Making History on view from October 9, 2005 to January 16, 2006. This exhibition marks the first time in twenty years that so many of Homer's works have been on view together, and will include popular, rarely seen watercolors.
THE CLARK BROTHERS COLLECT RENOIR TO MATISSE, HOMER TO HOPPER
The Clark Brothers Collect Renoir to Matisse, Homer to Hopper, June 3 to September 4, 2006, will exhibit the masterpieces collected by Robert Sterling Clark—including works by Renoir, Monet, Homer, Sargent, and more—alongside those collected by his brother Stephen including paintings by Van Gogh and Cézanne. This exhibition will travel to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.