Looking off towards Acadia National Park, in Maine
Reluctant to leave this beautiful coast, we cast off from Maine, and make the big drive to western Massachusetts to go and see The Clark. We took in the sites including a boat yard at Castine and a walk along the point ( see above ) in Brooklin ( in Maine, not Brooklyn in NYC ).The fresh air was marvelous!
I had not seen The Clark in over ten years, so I was surprised when we drove in to Williamstown in western Massachusetts and parked our car to walk into the entrance. The entire museum building has changed!
A new building greeted us and I must say that they had a brilliant idea to make-over this famous collection! They now have a stunning reflective pool outdoors with space to sit and enjoy your lunch and inside there are spacious galleries in which to view their collections. We didn't have time to see it all!
Winslow Homer , oil on canvas at The Clark
In the museum there is always a nice surprise right around the next corner. The artwork is carefully selected to educate and inform the viewer....( I was surprised also that the gallery with Winslow Homer and George Inness - didn't have better lighting! ). Some of Homer's most famous paintings are on view and I had a special interest in looking over the paintings of George Inness. Here is a painting by George Inness at The Clark, followed by a painting by Inness that I own.
George Inness at The Clark
George Inness oil painting (in the Alan Singer collection)
The Clark has a wonderful permanent collection that goes back to Renaissance and like a textbook leads us through a short history lesson of mainly European art. There was so much to see we didn't have time to see the exhibitions of glass borrowed from the museum in Corning, or the other temporary shows.
Sandro Botticelli at The Clark
"Virgin and Child with St. John the Baptist"
There are marvelous paintings of the past to see at The Clark, and the Botticelli above is one of the most eye-catching.This is a history lesson as well as a refresher course in painting and I found myself looking at every little detail. This is necessary especially if one is attracted to the smaller scale compositions like the Goya painting called "Autumn" you see below:
"Autumn" by Goya
In the time we had spent at The Clark I felt refreshed and we went through the more recent compositions of the French artists which seems to be the heart of the permanent collection. Drawn to the work of Degas and Renoir there is much to take in. I was completely captivated by Renoir's portraits, especially the face of the young lady below ( you could almost read her mind...).
Portrait by Renoir
Renoir's Self Portrait
I am sure that we will have to come back to this museum, because we have only seen a fraction of what they have on exhibit. I know this part of western Massachusetts has a lot to offer in the arts: music, dance and the visual arts...plus the beauty of the Berkshires! We stepped out in the back to have a bite to eat and took in the view with their great reflecting pool and a comfortable chair for each of us. Then it was time to get back behind the wheel and find our way home!
Taking a break and enjoying the view at The Clark, Williamstown, Massachusetts
