September 29, 2025
CLARK ART INSTITUTE PRESENTS LECTURE BY GABRIELE FINALDI CELEBRATING THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF LONDON’S NATIONAL GALLERY
Williamstown, Massachusetts—On Tuesday, October 21, the Clark Art Institute’s Research and Academic Program (RAP) hosts a talk by Gabriele Finaldi (National Gallery, London / Class of 1974 Short-Term Fellow), director of the National Gallery, London, who describes the museum’s history and the thinking behind it reset for its third century, in 2025 and beyond. The event takes place in the Manton Research Center auditorium at 5:30 pm.
The National Gallery, London, was founded in 1824 as “a collection of pictures for the use of the public,” as the sign on the door said. Initially, just thirty-eight paintings formed the national collection, and it was housed in a townhouse on Pall Mall. In 1838, the institution settled in a new building on Trafalgar Square, and little by little it has grown to be the celebrated and prestigious art gallery it is today, holding a selection of masterpieces from Cimabue to Rembrandt and from Leonardo da Vinci to Monet. It has become one of the most visited museums in the world. The occasion of the National Gallery’s Bicentenary in 2024 provided the opportunity to refurbish the Sainsbury Wing (under the direction of the architect Annabelle Selldorf) and to re-present its entire collection.
Sir Gabriele Finaldi has been Director of the National Gallery, London, since August 2015. He was previously Deputy Director for Collections and Research at the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, a position he assumed in 2002. Prior to his role at the Prado, he was a curator at the National Gallery between 1992 and 2002, where he was responsible for the later Italian paintings in the collection (Caravaggio to Canaletto) and the Spanish collection (Bermejo to Goya). Finaldi studied art history at the Courtauld Institute of Art, where he completed his doctorate in 1995 on the seventeenth-century Spanish painter who worked in Italy, Jusepe de Ribera. He has curated exhibitions in Britain, Spain, Italy, Belgium, and the US. He has written catalogues and scholarly articles on Velázquez and Zurbarán, Italian Baroque painting, and religious iconography.
Free. Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524. A 5 pm reception in the Manton Research Center reading room precedes the event. 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 $22 for adults, $20 for adults age 65+, $10 for adults ages 18-25, and $10 for college students with a valid student ID from April through December; admission is free year-round for Clark members and all visitors under age 18. Free admission is also available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; and the EBT Card to Culture. For information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.
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