METROPOLITAN MUSEUM WILL SHOW ‘THE CLARK BROTHERS COLLECT’ MAY 22

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NEW YORK CITY — The Metropolitan Museum of Art will present the exhibition “Impressionist and Early Modern Paintings: The Clark Brothers Collect,” on view May 22–August 19.

More than 65 masterpieces owned by rival brother collectors — Robert Sterling Clark (1877–1956), founder of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass., and Stephen Carlton Clark (1882–1960), a former trustee and illustrious donor to The Metropolitan Museum of Art — are brought together in this unprecedented exhibition.

Never before seen ensemble, treasured paintings from Sterling Clark’s collection, including works by such Nineteenth Century masters as Degas, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Homer and Sargent, are presented side by side with commanding works by Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso, Seurat, Eakins and Hopper, which held pride of place in Stephen Clark’s collection.

The brothers’ “silent rivalry” is given currency through works that invite comparison, such as two early self-portraits by Degas and similar rustic scenes by Homer and Remington, from their respective collections. Their mutual admiration for Renoir is highlighted in a grand form by the artist’s “Sleeping Girl with a Cat” and “At the Concert” from Sterling’s collection, and “A Waitress at Duval’s Restaurant” and “Madame Henriot in Costume” from Stephen’s collection.

The exhibition, which marks the 50th anniversary of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, provides an opportunity to appreciate the legacies of these two brothers, both heirs to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune and native New Yorkers, who played influential but ultimately divergent roles as patrons of the arts in the United States.

 The Metropolitan Museum of Art is at 1000 Fifth Avenue. For information, 212-535-7710 or www.metmuseum.org.