A Fine Excursion to the Berkshires
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| Western Massachusetts |
On a foliage-brightened day in early
October, a group of MFASA art and architecture enthusiasts visited two
outstanding sites in Western Massachusetts . Our first stop was the renowned Clark Art Institutein Williamstown, where we were welcomed by senior members of the Center for
Education and given a lively and informative tour of both the museum’s
permanent collection and a special exhibit of tomb artifacts from northern
China, along with a close look at plans for the major expansion currently
underway there. The impressive Clark
masterpieces include works by Botticelli, Goya, Monet, Sargent, Homer, and many
others, while the new Chinese exhibit, “Unearthed,” consists of
recently-excavated objects never before seen in North America, including an
entire 5th century sarcophagus, one of the largest ever
discovered.
En route to our next stop,
we dined en plein autobus, thanks to
hearty box lunches prepared by the restaurant at the Clark ,
and thus arrived in Stockbridge well-fortified for an afternoon of touring the
house and gardens at Naumkeag, the 44-room summer estate of the Choate
family. Designed in the late-19th
century shingle style by Stanford White yet including more traditional
architectural elements, the mansion houses works by Sargent and St. Gaudens, as
well as period furniture and a fine collection of Chinese porcelain. It is also surrounded
by 49 acres of splendidly landscaped gardens, where the group wandered happily
after our tour of the house. On the bus
ride back to Boston
Judy Wittenberg 2012