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Collecting the Impressionists:
Masterpieces From the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
March 25 through May 14, 2006

Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926) The Duck Pond, 1874 Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute

The Chrysler is pleased to welcome the first nationally touring exhibition of works from the permanent collection of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Highlighting the Clark’s renowned Impressionist collection – as well as complementing the Chrysler’s own impressive collection of paintings by many of the same artists – the tour commemorates the Clark Art Institute’s 50th anniversary. The twelve masterpieces in Collecting the Impressionists capture perfectly the gaiety, dazzling color, and brilliant brushwork of the French Impressionist style, offering a delightful way to salute the advent of spring.

As the grandson of a founding partner of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, Robert Sterling Clark (1877-1956) grew up in a prominent New York family with parents who were themselves art collectors and patrons. He began purchasing art in 1912, and focused much of his energy on acquiring French Impressionist pictures. Primarily a self-taught connoisseur, Sterling also relied heavily on the opinions of his wife, Francine (1876-1960), describing her as his “touchstone in judging pictures.” The couple amassed a collection of over 400 works of art, many of which are considered masterpieces. This collection became the foundation for the Clark Art Institute, which the couple founded in 1955.

The show’s 12 masterpieces include portraits by Pierre Auguste Renoir, landscapes by Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro, a still life by Edouard Manet, and a classic ballet scene by Edgar Degas. They were carefully selected to reveal the couple’s preference for pictures suffused with an unmistakably French joie-de-vivre--sunny landscapes, portraits of beautiful young women, charming genre scenes, and contemplative still lifes. Renoir was the couple’s preferred Impressionist, as evidenced in their acquisition of more than 35 of his paintings, five of which are included in this exhibition.

Stay tuned for more information on the exciting programs and other special events planned during the run of the exhibition.

Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas (French, 1834-1917) The Dancing Lesson, c. 1880 Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute

This exhibition was organized by the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts. Local presentation of Collecting the Impressionists is made possible through the generous support of the City of Norfolk, CMA-CGM, Max Media Properties LLC, Mr. and Mrs. Macon F. Brock, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Daniel S. Dechert, Mr. and Mrs. David R. Goode, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas G. Johnson, Jr., Mrs. George M. Kaufman, Dr. and Mrs. Edward L. Lilly, Mr. and Mrs. Arnold B. McKinnon, Dr. and Mrs. Jack B. Taylor, and Dr. and Mrs. James A. Valone.

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For general information, please call (757) 664-6200. For media information, please contact the Public Relations Department at (757) 333-6295 or publicrelations@chrysler.org.