January 14, 2026
CLARK ART INSTITUTE PRESENTS LECTURE BY CHARMAINE NELSON ON JUSTICE, PROPERTY, AND PUNISHMENT IN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY QUEBEC
Williamstown, Massachusetts—On Tuesday, February 10 at 5:30 pm, the Clark Art Institute’s Research and Academic Program hosts a talk by Charmaine Nelson (UMass Amherst / Clark/Oakley Humanities Fellow) exploring how transatlantic slavery was grounded in violence and systems of control imposed by enslavers and their surrogates in eighteenth-century Montreal Quebec, Canada. The talk takes place in the Manton Research Center auditorium.
In her talk, Nelson draws from the extant business records of eighteenth-century Montreal sheriff Edward William Gray, who worked to sustain and protect the interests of white enslavers such as the Quebec City printers William Brown and Thomas Gilmore. This case study offers a lens through which to better understand the broader context of the individual at the center of Nelson’s larger research project: an African-born enslaved man known as Joe. Enslaved by Brown and Gilmore and forced to work in their printing office, Joe was named in six fugitive slave advertisements issued in Quebec between 1777 and 1786. Gray’s correspondence with Brown and Gilmore reveals his efforts to uphold the enslavers’ claims to their “human property.”
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 events.clarkart.edu.
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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