Related Programs

Opening Events | Gallery Talks | Film Series | "Turner in Context" Lecture Series

Turner Lecture Series | Summer Band Concerts | Family Day | Weekend Course

In conjunction with Turner: The Late Seascapes, the Clark is offering a wide variety of special events, including gallery talks, lectures, a film series, a British seaside family day, and more.

All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

Opening Events

A Seaside (New) England Lobster Bake
Saturday, June 7, 6:00-9:00 pm

Members are invited to this casual, fun evening that celebrates the opening of Turner: The Late Seascapes with live music and an outdoor lobster bake on the front lawn of the Clark. Cost is $60 per person. To reserve a place, call 413-458-0524.

There is also a special offer for new members: join the Friends of the Clark and receive discounted reservations at the Lobster Bake. Participants can choose either a family/dual membership (valued at $70), plus dinner for two at the Lobster Bake for $170 or an individual membership (valued at $40) and dinner for one at the Lobster Bake ($90 total).

Members' Preview Day
Sunday, June 8, 10:00 am-5:00 pm

Friends of the Clark will have the opportunity to preview Turner: The Late Seascapes during Members' Day on Sunday, June 8. Gallery talks will be offered at 1:00 and 2:00 pm At 3:00 pm, guest curator James Hamilton will give the talk "'A Power Supreme': Turner's Romance with the Sea," followed by a book signing and reception at 4:00 pm The 176-page exhibition catalogue, available in hard- and soft-cover, will be for sale in the Museum Shop.

Gallery Talks

Turner: The Late Seascapes
Daily, 11:00 am and 3:00 pm

The Clark is offering daily gallery talks at 11:00 am and 3:00 pm for Turner: The Late Seascapes. Talks last approximately one hour and are offered June 16 through September 1.

Desert Island Pictures
Thursdays, June 12 and July 10, 12:30 pm
Thursdays, August 7, 14, 21, and 28, 12:30 pm

This summer, the Clark's popular lunchtime lecture series "Desert Island Pictures" will focus on the sea in honor of the exhibition Turner: The Late Seascapes. Clark curators will discuss works in the Clark collection that they would take with them if "stranded on a desert island." Visitors may purchase lunch in the Clark Café or bring a bag lunch to eat before or after each half-hour talk.

June 12: Claude Joseph Vernet's Coastal Scene at Midnight
Richard Rand, Senior Curator

July 10: Francesco di Stefano Pesellino's King Melchior Sailing to the Holy Land
Michael Cassin, Curator of Education

August 7: Gustave Le Gray's Brig on the Water
James A. Ganz, Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs

August 14: Winslow Homer's Undertow
Brian Allen, Curator of American Paintings and Director of Curatorial Administration

August 21: Claude Monet's Seascape: Storm
Katie Price, Curatorial Assistant

August 28: Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Seascape
Breta Yvars, Assistant Curator of Education

Film Series

Fridays, June 20 through August 29
4:00 pm

The imperial and romantic bond between Britain and the sea is the subject of this film series featuring rousing naval adventures and more intimate encounters with the encompassing ocean.

June 20: The Sea Hawk (1940, 128 minutes)
June 27: Longitude (2000, 200 minutes)
July 4: Treasure Island (1950, 96 minutes)
July 11: Mutiny on the Bounty (1935, 132 minutes)
July 18: The Bounty (1984, 130 minutes)
July 25: Horatio Hornblower (1999, 100 minutes each episode)
August 1: Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951, 117 minutes)
August 8: Damn the Defiant (1962, 101 minutes)
August 15: Persuasion (1995, 104 minutes)
August 22: In Which We Serve (1943, 114 minutes)
August 29: I Know Where I'm Going (1945, 91 minutes)
September 5: Local Hero (1983, 112 minutes)

"Turner in Context" Lecture Series

Saturdays, July 5, 12, 19, and 26, 2:00 pm

Every Saturday in July, Curator of Education Michael Cassin will discuss a different aspect of the work of J. M. W. Turner.

July 5: "This Sceptered Isle: Turner and the British Landscape"
July 12: "Flung Spray and Blown Spume: Turner and the English Watercolor Tradition"
July 19: "For Those in Peril on the Sea: Turner and Narrative Painting"
July 26: "Rain, Steam, and Speed: Turner and the Modern World"

Turner Lecture Series

Saturdays, August 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30, 2:00 pm

Clark curators and other experts will present a series of lectures related to Turner: The Late Seascapes.

August 2: "Rockets and Blue Lights"
A Public Conversation
David Bull, independent conservator, and Richard Rand, Senior Curator

August 9: "Turner Paintings in Melville's Imagination"
Robert K. Wallace, an expert on Herman Melville and author of Melville and Turner: Spheres of Love and Fright

August 16: "Out of the Darkness and Into the Light: Turner and Impressionism"
Richard Rand, Senior Curator

August 23: "'Enshrined in Mystery, and the Object of Profound Speculation': The Double Life of J. M. W. Turner"
Gillian Forrester, Associate Curator of Prints and Drawings, Yale Center for British Art

August 30: "Art . . . a Jealous Mistress: Turner and America"
Brian Allen, Curator of American Painting

Summer Band Concerts

Tuesdays, July 8, 15, 22, 29, 6:00 pm

Blankets, lawn chairs, and picnics are all encouraged at the Clark's outdoor band concerts. This year's series focuses on music from the British Isles. In the event of rain, concerts are held in the Auditorium.

July 8: Berkshire Highlanders Scottish Pipe Band
July 15: Wood's Tea Company in a program of sea chanties and other sea-faring music
July 22: Wintergreen performing traditional and contemporary music of the British Isles
July 29: Bala Brass Quintet in a program of music by British composers Grainger, Holst, Arnold, and Byrd, among others

British Seaside Family Day

Sunday, July 27, 11:00 am-4:00 pm

The carnival atmosphere of the British seaside will come to life at this day-long family event celebrating the exhibition Turner: The Late Seascapes. Live entertainment will include acrobats, magicians, and a Punch-and-Judy show. Learn to sing sea chanties or have your picture taken in Victorian bathing costume. Art activities will include making seashell boxes and ship wall hangings. Vendors at the outdoor festival will sell fish-and-chips, cotton candy, snow cones, and other fare.

Weekend Course: "The Lonely Sea and the Sky: Art and Nature in the Nineteenth Century"

Saturday, September 6, and Sunday, September 7, 9:00 am-5:00 pm

Adults with a general interest in art and art history are invited to participate in this exclusive two-day course. Participants will examine work of J. M. W. Turner in the context of other nineteenth-century movements. Instructors include Michael Cassin, curator of education; Richard Rand, senior curator; Brian Allen, curator of American paintings; and James A. Ganz, curator of prints, drawings, and photographs. Cost for the course is $400 for members, $500 for non-members. To receive a complete course schedule and registration form, call 413-458-0563.