CLARK ART INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES MASTERWORKS FROM LANDMARK GIFT TO BE PRESENTED IN AN EXQUISITE EYE: INTRODUCING THE ASO O. TAVITIAN COLLECTION
First public presentation of one of the most significant gifts in the Clark’s history
Jan van Eyck, Madonna at the Fountain, c. 1440, Oil on panel.
The presentation brings together a range of paintings, sculpture, drawings, and decorative arts from more than four centuries of artistic production (c. 1450-1850). An Exquisite Eye includes rare early Netherlandish painting, Italian Renaissance sculpture, Baroque portraiture, and eighteenth-century French works by artists such as Jan van Eyck, Jean-Antoine Houdon, and Elizabeth Louise Vigée-Lebrun, offering a compelling view of the collection’s depth across mediums and geography.
A central interpretive element in the exhibition’s design is a large-scale map tracing the geographic origins of selected objects, inviting visitors to follow the circulation of artists, materials, and artistic traditions across regions and time periods.
Assembled by the late collector, philanthropist, and connoisseur Aso O. Tavitian, the Collection is comprised of 331 paintings, sculpture, drawings, and decorative arts of exceptional quality and rarity. Featuring works by many of the most acclaimed artists of the early modern era—Jan van Eyck, Andrea della Robbia, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Peter Paul Rubens, Jean-Antoine Watteau, and Jacques-Louis David, among others—the gift significantly strengthens the Clark’s holdings, particularly in early modern European art, and more than doubles the size of the sculpture collection.
The collection will go on view in 2028 when the Clark opens the new Aso O. Tavitian Wing, designed by Selldorf Architects, adjacent to the current permanent collection galleries.
“This exhibition marks a defining moment for the Clark,” said Olivier Meslay, Hardymon Director of the Clark Art Institute. “The Tavitian Collection represents an extraordinary act of generosity and vision, one that profoundly expands our ability to present the history of European art at the highest level.”
“One of the most exciting aspects of the Tavitian Collection as it will be presented in An Exquisite Eye is the way in which it brings to life how deeply interconnected artists and artistic traditions were in early modern Europe,” said Lara Yeager-Crasselt, Aso O. Tavitian Curator of Early Modern European Painting & Sculpture.
Reflecting Tavitian’s deeply personal and discerning eye, the collection is distinguished by its intimacy and refinement. Portraiture is a particular strength of the Tavitian Collection, alongside religious and mythological subjects, landscapes, and still lifes. The collection invites close looking and sustained engagement, while offering a sweeping view of artistic production across Europe during a period of profound cultural transformation.
Highlights of An Exquisite Eye include:
- Jan van Eyck, Madonna at the Fountain, c. 1440, a rare workshop replica that demonstrates the artist’s revolutionary approach to naturalism and the devotional function of small-scale painting, showing an astonishing range of optical effects through color, light, and detail
- Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder, Little Bouquet in a Roemer, c. 1619, an early example of floral still life painting that merges scientific observation with artistic invention
- Anthony van Dyck, Portrait of Margaret Lemon, c. 1638, an intimate and psychologically charged portrait that offers insight into the artist’s personal and professional relationships in seventeenth-century London
- Jean-Antoine Houdon, Little Lise, 1775, a refined marble bust that exemplifies the artist’s stature as one of the most sought-after portrait sculptors of the French Enlightenment
- Claude-Joseph Vernet, Rhine Falls, near Schaffhausen, Switzerland, 1779, a dramatic landscape inspired by the artist’s travels, capturing the wonder of a natural phenomenon that was a site of international fascination
- Elizabeth Louise Vigée-Lebrun, Self Portrait in Studio Costume, c. 1800, an arresting image painted in exile in which the artist—a favorite of Queen Marie Antoinette—presents herself both as painter and subject
Additional works by Andrea della Robbia, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Peter Paul Rubens, Jean-Antoine Watteau, and Louis-Léopold Boilly further underscore the collection’s breadth.
“An Exquisite Eye reflects both the extraordinary discernment of Aso O. Tavitian and the Clark’s commitment to presenting exceptional works that invite deeper understanding,” said Esther Bell, Deputy Director and Robert and Martha Berman Lipp Chief Curator, and incoming Hardymon Director of the Clark Art Institute. “This presentation offers an early glimpse of the collection’s depth while building anticipation for its future home in the Clark’s new Aso O. Tavitian Wing.”
Organized by the Clark Art Institute, An Exquisite Eye is curated by Esther Bell, Deputy Director and Robert and Martha Berman Lipp Chief Curator and incoming Hardymon Director; and Lara Yeager-Crasselt, Aso O. Tavitian Curator of Early Modern European Painting and Sculpture. The presentation introduces the newly created curatorial role occupied by Yeager-Crasselt, which affirms the institution’s long-term commitment to the study and stewardship of the collection. The Tavitian gift also includes more than $45 million to support the ongoing care, study, and presentation of the collection, including the endowed curatorial position and the construction of the new wing.
An Exquisite Eye: Introducing the Aso O. Tavitian Collection is made possible by Denise Littlefield Sobel. Major funding is provided by Hubert and Mireille Goldschmidt, with additional support from George W. Ahl III, Robert Dance and Robert Loper, Stuart Lochhead Sculpture, the Asbjorn Lunde Foundation, Inc., and Kathleen Morris and Robert Kraus.
