For Immediate Release
March 18, 2025
CLARK ART INSTITUTE OFFERS
APRIL SCHOOL VACATION WEEK ACTIVITIES
FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
Williamstown, Massachusetts—The Clark Art Institute offers children and families fun activities celebrating the collection and the special exhibition Pastoral on Paper during the Massachusetts public school system’s April vacation week. From Tuesday, April 22 through Thursday, April 24, children can try landscape drawing at several stations around the museum, each with a different drawing medium, or go en plein air (outdoors) with a free drawing pad and mini colored pencils.
At 2 pm on all three days, Williamstown Rural Lands leads nature-related hikes and activities that connect us with the land, the museum, and the exhibition's themes.
On Thursday, April 24, visitors can drop in to the Museum Pavilion from 11 am to 2 pm to sculpt miniature cows to take home or add to our collaborative cow-scape.
On view through June 15, Pastoral on Paper explores how artists depicted rural life by considering their representation of cows, cottages, mules, maidens, shepherds, ruins, and overgrown landscapes. Selected primarily from the Clark’s strong holdings of drawings by Claude Lorrain and Thomas Gainsborough and supplemented with select loans of Dutch Italianate artworks, this exhibition analyzes pastoral imagery to examine how artists construct their own visions of an idealized landscape.
Pastoral on Paper is organized by the Clark Art Institute and curated by William Satloff, Class of 2025, Williams Graduate Program in the History of Art.
Free. Pick up a drawing pad and mini colored pencil set at the Clark Center admissions desk every day this week. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events. For accessibility questions, call 413 458 0524.
Family programs are generously supported by Allen & Company.
ABOUT THE CLARK
The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of nearly 300,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.
The Clark, which has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide, is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Its 140-acre campus includes miles of hiking and walking trails through woodlands and meadows, providing an exceptional experience of art in nature. Galleries are open 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Sunday from September through June and daily in July and August. Admission is free to all from January through March and is $20 from March through December; admission is free year-round for Clark members, all visitors age 21 and under, and students with a valid student ID. Free admission is also available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; and EBT Card to Culture. For information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.
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