The Clark, Part 2

On the third day of my long weekend trip to Western Massachusetts, which I took back in March 2026, I visited The Clark, an art museum in Williamstown, MA. Like my trip to MASS MoCA taken on the day before, my summary of the experience will be divided into three parts. In the first part, I described artwork found inside the museum building. In this second part, I will cover the architecture of the building, a nearby historic building, and some outside sculptures. In the third part, I will describe the rest of the outside sculptures and give tips on how to visit the museum.

Before going into the museum, visitors are greeted by a colorful pink monster sculpture rising from Schow Pond. The sculpture is part of Grand/work 2025, an outside exhibit with six giant sculptures scattered across the massive campus. The exhibit was curated by Glenn Adamson, whose other exhibitions include a creative interpretation of the Mayflower Voyage at the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA; American crafts at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AR; and English crafts at The Museum of English Rural Life in Reading, England. The pond serpent is named Coata III was created by Javier Senosiain Aguilar of Mexico City, where he is best known as a architect of avant-garde buildings inspired by the natural world. Nearby is a tree-like sculpture, Le foglie delle radici (The Leaves of the Roots) by Giuseppe Penone. The metal sculpture of an inverted tree is a platform for a small, living tree. Penone has been active since 1968, and trees have always been a theme in his work.

The walk outside allows visitors to admire the buildings on and near the property. The oldest museum building is known as... the Museum Building. The neoclassical style building was constructed under the guidance of museum founders Robert Sterling Clark and Francine J.M. Clary Clark, along with first director Peter Guille, between 1952 and 1955. Mr. Clark inherited some of Singer Manufacturing Company, now known as Singer Corporation, which is best known for producing sewing machines. Mr. Clark’s grandfather, Edward Cabot Clark, was a well-connected lawyer who assisted inventor Isaac Merritt Singer in setting up the business. Mrs. Clark was a Parisian actress who was highly knowledgeable about fine art. The couple married in 1919 and were married for over 47 years, ending in Mr. Clark’s death in 1956. Mrs. Clark died four years later in 1960. Both were cremated with their ashes interred in front of the museum.

The museum has greatly expanded in the following years. The Clark bought an entire art history library in 1964 and began partnering with nearby Williams College in 1972. The following year, in 1973, the Manton Research Center opened to house the library and college programs. This building is named for the Manton Family Foundation, founded by Sir Edwin “Jim” Alfred Grenville Manton and Lady Gretchen Manton. Sir Manton was English by birth but worked for an insurance company in New York City while collecting art. Lady Manton was from Iowa but moved to New York City, where they met in 1933 and married in 1936. Because they both loved art, they started their foundation in 1991 and were knighted in 1994 for their contributions to the Tate Gallery. The foundation is still run by the family, with granddaughters Julia Krapt and Sandy Niles serving as trustees.

The most recent addition was the Clark Center, constructed between 2010 and 2014. Designed by Tadao Ando, who won the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1995, the space acts as the main entrance to the museum, including the ticket counter, gift shop, restrooms, and extra exhibit space. Not a place to rest on its laurels, the museum plans to continue expansion with a new wing expected to open around 2028. For those who prefer older architecture, it is worth looking at the Georgian style building across the street from the museum. The house was constructed in 1764 or 1777 and was moved to the site by an oxen team in 1800. While the property was for sale during my visit, it appears to be off the market now, selling for about a million dollars. There was no shortage of good architecture to be found at The Clark!