Clark Art Institute. The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, commonly referred to as the Clark, is an art museum and research institution located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. Its collection consists of European and American paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, photographs, and decorative arts from the fourteenth to the early twentieth century. The Clark, along with the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art and the Williams College Museum of Art, forms a trio of art museums in the Berkshires. The institute also serves as a center for research and higher learning. It is home to various research and academic programs, which include the Fellowship Program and the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art. It is visited by 200,000 people a year. The Clark was created by entrepreneur, soldier, explorer, and prominent art collector Robert Sterling Clark, and his wife, Francine. After numerous adventures in the Far East, Sterling settled in Paris in 1911 and used a considerable fortune inherited from his grandfather to begin amassing a private art collection. Francine joined him in collecting works of art after their marriage in 1919. The Clarks kept their collection largely private, rarely lending out any works. With the onset of the Cold War and rapid nuclear armament, they became increasingly worried about the safety of their artworks. They wanted to protect their collection from a possible attack on New York City, where they lived and where the expected heir of their collection, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was located. As such, the Clarks began looking at sites in rural New York and Massachusetts with the intention of founding a museum for their art. They visited Williamstown, Massachusetts in 1949 and began having conversations with town leaders and the administrators of Williams College and the Williams College Museum of Art. Sterling had ties to the college through his grandfather and father, both of whom had been trustees. A charter for the Clark was signed on March 14, 1950 and the Institute opened to the public on May 17, 1955 under its first director, former silver dealer Peter Guille. The Clark has since become a destination for tourists, art lovers, and scholars, helping to establish the cultural reputation of the Berkshires. The original marble gallery building, designed by Daniel Deverell Perry, opened in 1955. The Pietro Belluschi-designed Manton Research Center, housing the library and research programs, was completed in 1973. The Clark embarked on a long-term project in 2001 to improve its campus, enlisting the help of landscape firm Reed Hildebrand and architects Tadao Ando and Annabelle Selldorf. Reed Hilderbrand redesigned the campus grounds, revamping nearby walking trails, planting 1,000 trees, and creating a reflecting pool fed by recycled water. Tadao Ando designed two additions: the Lunder Center at Stone Hill and the 42,600-square-foot Clark Center, which opened in 2008 and 2014, respectively. Envisioned as a sanctuary in the woods waiting to be discovered, the Lunder Center features two galleries and a seasonal terrace cafe. It is also home to the Williamstown Art Conservation Center, the largest regional conservation center in the country. The Clark Center includes more than 11,000 square feet of gallery space for special exhibitions; new dining, retail, and family spaces; and an all-glass Museum Pavilion that creates a new entrance to the original Museum Building. Situated northwest of the Museum Building, the stone, concrete, and glass Clark Center is the centerpiece of the Clark's campus and serves as its primary visitor entrance. Annabelle Selldorf was commissioned to renovate the campus' existing structures. In the 1955 original marble building, galleries for American and decorative art were added and exhibition space was increased by 15%. In the Manton Research Center, which reopened in 2016, the auditorium and central courtyard were renovated and several galleries and a study center were created. Its renovation marked the completion of the Clark's all-encompassing expansion project. The Research and Academic Program is the manifestation of the Clark's original commitment to academic research and scholarly study. The program began in the late 1990s with the establishment of the Clark Library and the Graduate Program in the History of Art. Under the direction of John Onians, Michael Ann Holly, and Darby English, the program has since widened its purview to partner with both regional and international institutions and scholars to challenge and expand the scope of the study and production of the visual arts.