Sterling clark utah
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Francine Clary was born in 1876 in France. A former actress with the Comédie Française, she married Sterling Clark in 1919.
Like her husband, Francine had an avid interest in collecting art, giving her opinions when the couple met with dealers. Sterling referred to his wife as his “touchstone in judging pictures.” He once described Francine as “an excellent judge, much better than I am at times, though I have known her to make mistakes on account of charming subjects.”
Sterling Clark began to build his art collection after settling in Paris in 1910. His first purchases were made in 1912 and included Woodland Landscape with a Farm in the style of Meindert Hobbema, View on the Seashore by a follower of Jacob van Ruisdael, and Portrait of a Man by Hyacinthe Rigaud. During this early period, Clark’s attention was drawn particularly to Italian, Dutch, and Flemish painters. He also became interested in silver, prints, illustrated books, and drawings. In addition to the Old Master paintings he collected between 1911 and 1921, he also acquired works by some of his favorite artis
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Robert Sterling Clark Collection of Rare Books
Robert Sterling Clark’s interest in collecting art was almost equally matched by his interest in collecting books. The Clark Art Institute's library houses the Robert Sterling Clark Collection of Rare Books, which numbers about 1,600 titles.
Sterling Clark began his collection by acquiring books on horses and horsemanship, partly for the information they contained but also for their illustrations. Although books on horses constituted Clark’s first purchases as a collector he quickly began to branch out, eventually building a collection that—like the collection of books on horses—includes major classics in rare editions with an emphasis on fine illustrations. Sterling Clark was also interested in and knowledgeable about bindings. His collection includes many examples of particularly beautiful fine bindings, many of which can be seen in the sidebar.
Books on costume and fashion and classic works of literature make up an important part of the collection. Most of the literature is in French, but Clark’s tastes also inclu
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Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
An heir to the Singer sewing machine fortune, he was the grandson of Edward Clark, the business partner of Isaac Singer. Robert studied at Yale, served in the army until 1905, and led a scientific expedition to China (1908–9).
In 1911 he settled in Paris as an art collector, in 1919 marrying Francine Clary (1876–1960), born in France; little is known of her early life. The Clarks moved to New York City in 1949, settling in Williamstown, MA, where they built up a collection of Old Master and 19th-c American paintings.
In 1955 they established the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, and both are buried beneath the front steps of the original marble building.
Clark's collection included French Impressionist masterpieces, including thirty-eight Renoirs, and works by such American artists as Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Frederic Remington, and Mary Cassatt.
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