The Clark Art Institute Makes Plans to Expand After Generous Donation

The generous collection includes 331 artworks and a $45 million bequest of money for a new gallery wing in Tavitian’s name, in addition to a curatorial team to care for it. 

The software industry mogul of Armenian descent— living between New York City and Stockbridge, Massachusetts— had previously loaned out over 30 pieces from his private collection for the Clark’s 2011 exhibition Eye to Eye: European Portraits, 1450–1850, so donating a portion of his collection to The Clark had long been in the works. 

“My interest in the arts originally started from a decorative point of view related to the house I had bought in New York, but then I came to appreciate it and fell in love with it,” Tavitian told The Armenian Mirror-Spectator in 2017. As per The New York Times, the remaining 900 works in Tavitian’s collection will be sold at Sotheby’s in February. 

The 132 paintings, 130 sculptures, 39 drawings, and 30 bibelots span from the Renaissance to the 19th Century. Some notable works in the acquisition include Peter Paul Rubens’s Portrait of a Young Man (1613-15), Van Eyck’s Madonna at the Fountain (circa 1440), and a marble statue of Saint Cecile (circa 1500) by the Spanish sculptor Gil de Siloé, in addition to pieces by Parmigianino, Bernini, Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Claude Monet. 

“It is an incredible honor to receive this transformational gift,” said The Clark’s Director, Olivier Meslay. “During his lifetime, Aso Tavitian was a wonderful friend to The Clark and a generous supporter who provided us with exceptional leadership and dedication.” 

The museum has decided to work with Selldorf Architects— who were also responsible for renovations that took place in 2014 and 2016— to oversee the design of the Aso O. Tavitian Wing, which is expected to be completed sometime between 2027 and 2028. This announcement comes two years after plans to expand the campus and update facilities that will connect the existing museum to William’s Manton Research Center.