Sterling & Francine Clark Art Inst

See schedule o for museum program accomplishments.museum program accomplishments: since its founding in 1950, the clark's collection has continued to grow, now consisting of over 10,000 objects, including over 500 paintings and significant holdings of works on paper and decorative arts. The collection features european and american paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, photographs, and decorative arts from the renaissance to the early twentieth century. The collection is especially rich in french impressionist and academic paintings, british oil sketches, drawings, and silver, and the work of american artists winslow homer, george inness, and john singer sargent. Based on the founding gift from sterling and francine clark, the collection has expanded over the years through numerous acquisitions as well as significant gifts and bequests, including the gift of sir edwin and lady manton collection of british art and the gift of george inness paintings by frank and katherine martucci.the clark also organizes special exhibitions in cooperation with leading museums in the united states and europe. Recent exhibitions include: wall power!-modern french tapestry from the mobilier national, paris (winter 2024/winter 2025), mariel capanna: giornata (2025), pastoral on paper (spring/summer 2025); edgar degas-multi-media artist in the age of impressionism (summer/fall 2024), fragile beauty: treasures from the corning museum of glass (summer/fall 2024), guillaume lethiere (summer/fall 2024), kathia st. Hilaire: invisible empires (spring/summer 2024), david-jeremiah: i drive thee (winter 2024/winter 2025), abelardo morell: in the company of monet and constable (fall 2024/winter 2025) and edvard munch: trembling earth (summer 2023/fall 2023). Upcoming exhibitions include: a room of her own: women artists in britain, 1875-1945 (summer/fall 2025), ground/work 2025 (summer 2025/summer 2026), isamu noguchi: landscapes of time (summer 2025), and bernice abbott's modern lens (summer 2025).major exhibitions are augmented by web-based microsites, general and customized gallery talks, multimedia guides, in-gallery interpretive materials, lectures, and film series. Seasonal community days, summer outdoor concerts and movies, fall and winter art courses, and music performances further the clark's effort to involve intergenerational audiences and support lifelong learning. The clark has a robust digital programming initiative including livestreamed and pre-recorded programs encompassing lectures, conversations with artists and art historians, and musical performances; education programs and activity sheets; and a podcast series. Clark social media platforms have a combined following of more than 100,000, and the clark website receives more than 1.8 million unique pageviews annually.special efforts to enhance access to the clark include free admission for children and students at all times, a free pass program offered through over 140 regional libraries, and participation in the card-to-culture program, which provides free admission to anyone with an ebt card, as well as providing free admission to active members of the military, and massachusetts teachers. Three for free (free admission for all) is offered in january-march, first sundays free, held october-may, as well as community day, and other special community programming are all examples of free events which include museum admission, family-friendly gallery tours, performances, and hands-on activities which attract some 20,000 visitors annually, including many local families who would otherwise not visit.

See schedule o for educational program accomplishments.educational program accomplishments: the clark conducts a full series of educational programs for the general public designed to encourage a wide range of audiences to explore, understand, and enjoy the visual arts in general and the clark's collections in particular. These offerings include guided gallery tours, family activity guides, and community events designed for different ages and stages. Digital and web-based programming is created for general audiences and school audiences (including curricular support resources); these programs are updated regularly. Two interactive installations for independent visitor activity and learning were developed, including art/lab, a space that encourages exploration of a variety of art concepts for all ages and a postcard station, where people can make, write and send a postcard featuring the clark to someone they know. The clark's pedagogy emphasizes interactive engagement and conversation rather than the more traditional one-way flow of information from presenter to audience. This engagement approach is designed to be flexible, so as to respond to the different needs and desires of different audiences, and it encourages cultural, social, and historical awareness that carries beyond a particular work of art and/or any one perspective. The clark's goal is to provide a dynamic and meaningful experience for the museum visitor.