For Immediate Release
March 19, 2025
CLARK ART INSTITUTE SCREENS
FREE PASTORAL ON PAPER FILM SERIES
Williamstown, Massachusetts—This April and May, the Clark Art Institute hosts a series of films celebrating the Pastoral on Paper exhibition, with films that inevitably introduce some kind of conflict into peaceful landscapes in the rural United States, France, and Ireland. All films are free and screened in the Manton Research Center auditorium on select Thursdays at 6 pm.
April 24
Days of Heaven (1978)
After accidentally killing his foreman at a steelworks in Chicago, laborer Bill, (Richard Gere) goes westward to the Texas plains with his girlfriend, Abby (Brooke Adams), and younger sister (Linda Manz). Posing as siblings, the trio find work in the wheat fields. To escape their life of toil, Bill convinces Abby to marry a wealthy but dying farmer (Sam Shepard). The ensuing love triangle binds the three together as they circle around the idyllic landscape. The lonely beauty of Terrence Malick’s film pays homage to the paintings of Edward Hopper and Andrew Wyeth. (Run time: 1 hour, 34 minutes)
May 15
The Quiet Man (1952)
Both an exemplary and a unique example of director John Ford's use of landscape, The Quiet Man longs for an unregainable past, for tradition and ceremony, and for the peace and escape of an idyllic country. Set in the 1920s, the film stars Ford’s muse, John Wayne, as Sean Thornton, a recently retired boxer who has travelled from America to his birthplace of Innisfree to lay claim to his family farm. (Run time: 2 hours, 9 minutes)
May 22
Jean de Florette (1988)
This engrossing epic of greed and deception is set amid the bucolic splendor of the Provence countryside. Gérard Depardieu gives one of his great performances as the hunchbacked city slicker Jean, who is determined to make a success of the farm he has inherited—unaware that his new neighbor César (Yves Montand) and his nephew Ugolin (Daniel Auteuil) have launched a ruthless scheme to take control of the land for themselves. (Run time: 2 hours)
Free. Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events.
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.
Press contact: [email protected]