European Masters in the Berkshires: An Interview with the Clark’s Olivier Meslay

One month ago, the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts, announced that it had received a major gift worth several hundred million dollars: some 331 artworks from the Renaissance and later, from artists such as Hans Memling, Peter Paul Rubens, Parmigianino, Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, Jean-Antoine Watteau and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The donation comes to the museum from the foundation of the late longtime supporter Aso Tavitian, which also gave the funds for a new wing in which to display the gift. We caught up with the museum’s director Olivier Meslay to hear more about its impact

Congratulations on this major gift. You’ve described it as the “most transformational gift” since the founding bequest from the collectors Sterling and Francine Clark. Why is it so transformative?

This donation introduces the works of more than 100 artists to the Clark’s permanent collection, both enhancing and expanding the scope of our collection. The artists whose works are included in the Tavitian gift are among some of the most important in art history, particularly from the Renaissance and early modern eras, including Jacopo da Pontormo, Jan Van Eyck, Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Anthony Van Dyck. And yet, many of the works included in the gift are by artists who are unknown. The gift is also transformational in that nearly half of the works are sculpture, a medium that has not previously been a major strength of the Clark’s collection. The gift adds 130 sculptures to the Clark’s holdings, which quadruples the total number of sculptures in the collection. These include sculptures by Andrea della Robbia, Jean-Antoine Houdon, David d’Angers and Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux.

Let’s talk about Aso Tavitian, who collected the works donated in his gift and had a longstanding relationship with the museum. What was his attitude toward collecting? How did he come to develop such an eye?

When Aso Tavitian began building his collection, it was for purely personal reasons. Aso enjoyed surrounding himself with beauty but was deeply interested in making personal connections to each object he acquired. You’ll notice that much of the collection is focused on portraiture and that’s a reflection of Aso’s deep interest in people—in their stories and in their humanity. A part of what drove him to continue growing his collection was his belief that seeing these works of art in dialogue with each other enriched your ability to appreciate them in new and interesting ways.

Part of the reason for the size of this gift is that Tavitian wanted to keep a significant portion of his collection together. Why do you think this was important to him?

Aso was very engaged with the idea of ensuring that these works would be available for future generations to see and appreciate. He also knew that here at the Clark, these paintings and sculptures would deepen the ways in which students and scholars could learn about the artists, the subjects and the history of our world. Having the opportunity to encounter so many important objects all in one place is a treasure trove for art scholars and is a true delight for art lovers. Imagine making a trip to a small place like Williamstown, Massachusetts, and wandering through galleries filled with works by some of history’s greatest painters and sculptors, and then walking outside of our galleries to take in the great natural beauty of our campus in the Berkshires. It’s a distinctly memorable experience.

How does the Clark’s location in the Berkshires enhance this collection of works by European masters?

Tavitian had a home here in the Berkshires and, like so many others who have discovered this corner of the world, he found particular resonance in living surrounded by the beauty found here in nature. That experience alone is inspirational, but when you then consider the region’s remarkable cultural resources—art, music, theatre, dance—you realize how this rich cultural mélange deepens your ability to appreciate all of the arts. It doesn’t matter where the art was made; the way or place in which you encounter art can influence your perceptions. Looking at art here is very different from walking into a museum in busy urban settings like New York, London or Paris. We think that having the opportunity to look at great art here creates a particularly memorable experience that enriches the ways in which you can think and learn about art.

Discussions around this gift began in 2019, so that the gift could fill gaps in the museum’s collection or otherwise complement it. Can you speak a little more to those discussions and the gaps this collection is filling?

The gift wasn’t specifically intended as a means of “filling gaps” in the collection. As we discussed the gift, first with Aso Tavitian and later with the Tavitian Foundation, we made very conscientious decisions about which objects made the most sense to add to our collection. While our existing collection ranges from the Renaissance to the end of the 19th Century, our holdings were more focused in the early period, while the Tavitian Collection was stronger in the latter half of this time. And, the Tavitian Collection has a greater focus on sculpture, which will deeply enrich our holdings in that medium. The objects we selected further enhance our existing collection and, at the same time, extend the scope and balance of our holdings.

Of the 331 works in this gift, do you have any personal favorites?

That’s an impossible question for a curator to answer! But I will say that I have been particularly drawn to a marble of Saint Cecilia by the Spanish artist Gil de Siloé. I had seen the sculpture in an auction house catalogue and had been impressed by it, thinking it was a really beautiful object. A few months later, I had the somewhat surreal experience of seeing it in person for the first time—not in a gallery or a museum, but in Aso Tavitian’s kitchen. He had been the successful bidder at auction, and there we were, standing around the kitchen counter admiring his new acquisition. I saw how much he loved this sculpture, and seeing it through his eyes made me appreciate it even more.

The gift also includes funds to build a new wing to house it all and for a new curator position. Why was it important for the museum to have these benefits alongside the gift?

The new wing and the funding for two new staff positions again underscore the significance Aso placed on stewarding and caring for these works of art in perpetuity. It was important to Aso to know that at any given time, a large percentage of the works from his collection would be available to the public on view in dedicated gallery space, so making these objects readily accessible was a key consideration in his thinking. The addition of staff positions dedicated to the care and scholarship surrounding such an important group of objects means that future generations of visitors, students and academics will have the unique opportunity of accessing expert resources to assist in providing new insights and new scholarship surrounding these objects. Above all else, these dedicated staff resources will ensure that these works of art are properly maintained for the enjoyment of all.