About the Exhibition
In 2024, the Clark received a gift of 331 works of art from the collection of late philanthropist and connoisseur Aso O. Tavitian (1940–2020). This transformational gift—one of the largest donations in the Clark’s history—is arguably among the most significant private collections assembled in the twenty-first century. Representing works of exceptional quality and rarity, the Tavitian Collection expands the breadth and diversity of the Clark’s holdings in European art produced between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries. An Exquisite Eye: Introducing the Aso O. Tavitian Collection presents the first display of a selection from the Tavitian Collection at the Clark, in anticipation of its future home in the new Aso O. Tavitian Wing, opening in 2028.
Aso O. Tavitian assembled his personal collection over a period of several decades beginning in 2004. The intimate character of this collection remains palpable in its presentation here: many of the paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts are small-scale works that are intended to be viewed and experienced closely. The collection is particularly rich in portraiture, but also encompasses religious and mythological subjects, landscapes, and still lifes. The Tavitian Collection’s geographical and chronological breadth underscores the pivotal intersections of European artistic traditions. It brings to the fore the creativity and complexity of early modern European art across different media in a period of tremendous artistic, cultural, and social change.
An Exquisite Eye: Introducing the Aso O. Tavitian Collection is organized by the Clark Art Institute and curated by Esther Bell, Deputy Director and Robert and Martha Berman Lipp Chief Curator; and Lara Yeager-Crasselt, Aso O. Tavitian Curator of Early Modern European Painting & Sculpture.
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, Samuel H. Kress Foundation, Stuart Lochhead Sculpture, the Asbjorn Lunde Foundation, Inc., and Kathleen Morris and Robert Kraus.