This week, Jared takes us to the Berkshires to tour the studio and home of sculptor Daniel Chester French. Plus, reviews of two new exhibitions at The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown.
“Chesterwood,” the historic summer residence of Daniel Chester French in Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Chesterwood, the 150-acre estate of American sculptor Daniel Chester French, is celebrating its 50th anniversary as a National Trust Historic Site. French was a New England-born sculptor who carved out a prolific career creating national monuments like “The Minuteman” in Concord and, most famously, the seated Lincoln statue at the Lincoln Memorial. Though he worked and lived in New York City, French spent some 35 summers working and soaking up nature at Chesterwood. Visitors can tour the Chesterwood studio to see how French created his monumental sculptures.
“He would start small. And then continue to expand and enhance the figure,” said Chesterwood director Donna Hassler. “He was working his ideas in three dimensions.”
“Renoir: The Body, The Senses,” on view at The Clark Art Institute through Sept. 22
To commemorate the centenary of Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s death, The Clark Art Institute presents a survey of the artist’s career through a single subject often overlooked by art historians: his nudes. In addition to presenting a broad survey of Renoir’s paintings, drawings, and sculptures, the exhibition also presents works by his peers, including Edgar Degas and Claude Monet, and those he inspired, such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.
“Matisse said of Renoir, ‘I've always felt that recorded time holds no nobler story, no more heroic, no more magnificent achievement than that of Renoir,’" said curator Esther Bell. “Especially Renoir's nudes, Matisse called them the loveliest ever painted.”
“Ida O’Keeffe: Escaping Georgia’s Shadow,” on view at The Clark Art Institute through Oct. 6
A new exhibition sheds light on the work of Ida Ten Eyck O’Keeffe, the younger sister of famed artist Georgia O’Keeffe. Ida began her art career at the height of the Great Depression and quickly developed her own unique practice. Despite her early promise, Ida’s older sister Georgia determined that there would only be one famous artist in the family, effectively ending any opportunity she had to enter the art world. With neither the resources nor support of her older sister or her husband, famed photographer and art dealer Alfred Stieglitz, Ida struggled to gain traction in the art world, and her work languished in relative obscurity for decades.
“She certainly doesn't have the ability to transport large artworks, to afford expensive materials, or to have a studio,” said Clark curator Robert Wiesenberger. (The exhibition was originally conceived and curated by Sue Canterbury at the Dallas Museum of Art.) "Through her paintings and prints, this retrospective showcases the evolution of Ida’s artistic talent and a career never given the chance to prosper."
What art events in the Berkshires have you seen this summer? Tell Jared about it on Facebook or Twitter!
