The Clarks of Cooperstown

March 12, 2007
Curator and writer Weber (Balthus
) tells the fascinating story of an art-obsessed family—especially Sterling and Stephen Clark, whose affinity with artists, says Weber, went beyond the usual collector's. The family fortune was founded by Edward Clark, as the business partner of sewing machine mogul Isaac Singer. His son Alfred used his inheritance to support the sculptor George Grey Barnard and the piano prodigy Josef Hofmann. Sterling and Stephen were Alfred's sons. Sterling was a brash bon vivant who married a French actress and took part in an abortive movement to depose President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose policies he believed were destroying America's capitalist economy. He also built a museum in Williamstown, Mass., to house his extraordinary collection of Courbets, Renoirs and others. Stephen, a founder of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., was reserved and dour, yet adventurous as an art collector, buying the works of avant-garde artists like Van Gogh, Picasso and Brancusi. One of the founding trustees of the Museum of Modern Art, he stirred up controversy when he fired the museum's first director, Alfred Barr. Weber's delightfully written study includes much insightful psychological speculation about these larger-than-life men. (An exhibit abut Sterling and Stephen Clark and their collection will be at the Metropolitan Musem of Art in New York City May 22–Aug. 19.) 16 pages of color illus., b&w photos throughout.

Starred review from April 1, 2007
The Clark family helped shape American commerce and culture, yet their saga is little known. Weber (Balthus, 1999) portrays the Clarks with splendid animation and a deep understanding of the passion for art. Attorney Edward Clark amassed the considerable family fortune by shrewdly managing Isaac Singers sewing-machine company, and built New Yorks famed Dakota apartment building. His son and heir, Alfred, lived a carefully divided life as husband to an exceptional woman, father of four sons, and a man who loved men. Two of his sons inherited Alfreds devotion to art and largesse. Audacious and macho Sterling was a pleasure seeker and a fanatic collector. The owner of 39 Renoirs, he built the renowned Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Massachusetts. Sadly, his over-the-top emotions instigated a decades-long estrangement from his brothers. Proper and hardworking philanthropist Stephen was a quietly brilliant collector (Edward Hopper was a favorite). Instrumental in establishing New Yorks Museum of Modern Art, he also built the Baseball Hall of Fame. Webers exquisitely sensitive yet hugely entertaining group portrait of the Clarks is a potent tale of family and wealth, anguish and the solace of art.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)