End of Summer and Van Gogh

Thursday I ducked over to The Clark early to hear a talk about Van Gogh, Nature and God. Full room, very attentive, many from the First Congregational Church in Williamstown. Interesting talk, given from a religious perspective of course, by Rev. Mark Longhurst of the First Congregational Church. While I didn’t agree with some of what was said, I understood the perspective.

Coming out of the talk, there was a serious line of people queued up to get into the exhibit. Another lecture attendee headed to the gift shop and I followed. She picked up the Penguin edition of Van Gogh’s letters and we had a short chat about the online letters which she did not know about. Then I took a chance and asked the guard nearest the “exit only” sign how much trouble I might get into if I ducked in that way. He allowed as the best pieces were in the last three rooms and he was sure I’d seen them all before anyway, so in I went. I didn’t wind my way back to the earliest pieces lest the people inching along there wonder where I’d come from but I did get a nice bit of time with the rest.

OK, quick aside which I wish I’d had the guts to hang out and research: How many people thought “Tulip Fields at Sassenheim” was by van Gogh rather than Monet? It’s ok.

Saturday morning, Mom and I got an early start and went back to Williamstown so she could take a tour around. We also took the shuttle up to visit Whistler’s mother and looked at other pieces by Whistler from the Clark collection. I thought it was darn impressive and the size was surprising. Afterwards we had lunch at the Moonlight Diner and called it a day.

This morning, I headed back there again early because it was the last day. I did get in a bit before the ticket buying crowd but after my first walk through it was four to five people deep and it stayed that way the rest of the day. Being able to stand in the middle of a room or to sit on a bench is a good maneuver since you can take advantage of crowd openings to view something you want to see more of. I did use my noise-cancelling earbuds (not plugged into anything) just to cut down on the crowd noise. Eventually I wandered out to the permanent collection and hung out with the impressionists and other favorites and looked at the other Millets.

Finally I headed out to my car and had my lunch then went back to the cafe for a hot coffee and cookie (ginger and molasses – quite tasty).

I did walk through the exhibit again but it was too crowded so I looked at a handful and then took the shuttle up the hill, and the path up the hill to where all the cows were hanging out waiting to see if it would rain. It didn’t while I was there and after some quiet thinking it was time for the closing lecture.

Ann Hoenigswald, Senior Conservator of Paintings of the National Gallery in Washington DC gave a talk about color and intent and conservation. Quilters will nod at the problems of fugitive colors which were a problem with paints of van Gogh’s time too. She started and ended by saying that part of the reason there is so much focus and discussion about color and van Gogh is because we know a great deal more about his ideas and practices through his letters, even diagrams where he indicated to his brother what colors he had used in particular areas of a painting. There are lists of colors and the amounts he ordered and much discussion about color theory and its application. Pretty fascinating stuff, including some digitally produced speculation of what certain paintings might have looked like when newly painted.

One of the curators of the exhibit, Richard Kendall, was in the audience and I was glad to be able to shake his hand on the way out and thank him for a wonderful summer and to let him know how useful and helpful the opening lecture had been. I’m sure he heard lots of praise about the exhibit but what a thing they brought to Williamstown.

It wasn’t just raining as we left the building, it was pouring. A nice lady shared her umbrella with me and a young man as we headed for the shuttle bus, so only half of me got soaked. As I walked to my car a big arc of a rainbow filled the sky over Billsville which seemed like the perfect end to a great summer at the Clark.