Winslow Homer, Saco Bay, 1896, Oil on canvas. The Clark Art Institute, 1955.5 The Clark Art Institute The Berkshires is one of the most beautiful places in the United States. Sleepy little towns snooze amidst lush vegetation and green hills. At Williamstown, you are immediately drawn by the calm and restful appeal of this town. This is why it is so surprising to find a museum of the caliber of the Clark Art Institute in this pastoral setting. Sterling Singer Clark, heir to the Singer sewing machine fortune and his wife, Francine Clary, founded the museum in 1950. Their collection of French Impressionist and Academic paintings including works by Renoir, Degas, Gauguin and Van Gogh form the core collection of the museum together with their silver, porcelain, drawings and print acquisitions. The museum opened to the public in 1955. Sterling Clark also had an interest in American artists and collected the works of Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent. The museum is at 225 South Street,
“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” - James Michener