Clark painting confirmed as masterpiece

By Linda CarmanPrint Story | Email Story
Piero della Francesca's 'Madonna and Child with Four Angels' (Photo Courtsey of the Clark Art)
WILLIAMSTOWN — The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute has loaned a prized Italian Renaissance painting, one of the jewels of the collection, to a major exhibition in Italy — where its juxtaposition with a known masterpiece by Piero della Francesca has stilled any remaining doubts about its authenticity. “This is the first time ever that it’s been out on loan, and certainly the first time out of the United States,” said museum Director Michael Conforti, who was in Italy to view the exhibition. “The painting is Piero della Francesca’s most important work in the United States.” The painting, “Madonna and Child with Four Angels,” is displayed in the Brera Gallery of Milan next to Piero’s great, and considerably larger, Brera altarpiece — in which the artist paints the same figures but adds others, including the kneeling donor, the Duke of Urbino. “Everyone is very excited,” senior curator Richard Rand said. “This is the first time our picture has been to Italy since it left in the early 19th century. This is an opportunity for Italian scholars to see our painting in the flesh — and especially to see it next to the great painting in Milan that is similar in many ways. That has clinched the whole question of whether our picture is by Piero. Everyone now acknowledges that it is, and in point of fact, most current art historian specialists accept our painting as an autographed original. This is wonderful confirmation of what we’ve long believed and what younger generations of scholars believed as well.” Some doubts had been raised in the mid-20th century, mostly because, Rand said, “Most scholars who specialized in Piero had never come to Williamstown and knew the painting only from books. All anyone knew about it was from old black and white photographs, and some people were uncomfortable assigning it to Piero’s hand on that basis.” Sterling Clark purchased the painting in 1914 in London but did not exhibit it until 1955, when the museum opened. Williams College art history professor Samuel Y. Edgerton Jr. said the Clark had been asked to lend the painting previously but a former director had declined. “It would have had a chance to be seen,” Edgerton said. “But instead, it remained in obscurity.” Conforti said Italian professionals were delighted that the Clark had agreed to lend its treasured painting and wanted to see his reaction to the sight of the paintings hung together. “Our Piero was up against the closest comparable work by the artist, so people can see for themselves how similar they are,” he said. “Now the question of authenticity has been settled, it’s just a question of exactly when he painted it.” The artist painted in the 1460s to 1480s in Urbino, in the province of Umbria, between Florence and Rome. “He is, for some, the most ethereal of all Renaissance painters. He took classical models and moved them forward with an almost angelic air,” Conforti said. “There are very few of his works outside Italy, only two or three in the National Gallery in London, and, aside from the Clark’s painting, only a couple of fragments in the United States.” Pleased that any lingering doubts had been stilled, he added, “Certain scholars have wondered if a Piero can be in Williamstown.” Rand said, “It’s our greatest Old Master painting.” The painting will travel to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with the exhibition “From Filippo Lippi to Piero della Francesca: Fra Carnevale and the Making of a Renaissance Master,” on display from Feb. 1 to May 1. The Brera alterpiece, deemed too fragile to travel, will not be sent to New York. The exhibition is a collaboration of the Brera Gallery and the Metropolitan — whose curator of European paintings, Keith Christiansen, spearheaded the show and the Clark’s loan. The Clark will, in turn, receive loans from the Metropolitan for a subsequent exhibition. Edgerton said he and Christiansen were “ardent in our belief that the painting was by Piero” and could have been done by no one else. Placed next to the Brera altarpiece, the viewer can see striking similarities. In the Clark painting, Edgerton explained, the Virgin Mary wears a blue cloak over a red garment with a fleur-de-lis design in gold lamé. That same fabric is draped over a figure in the Brera altarpiece. In addition, in the Clark painting, the Virgin Mary wears a four-cornered brooch, also worn by one of the figures in the Brera altarpiece. Edgerton said the most interesting aspect of the paintings is Piero’s characteristic play on perspective. “It’s an intellectual trick, full of gamesmanship,” he said. Edgerton and Christiansen explored Piero’s perspective using a copy done by Sandra Webber of the Williamstown Art Conservation Center, tracing lines out on a huge table. Edgerton also noted that the rightmost angel in the Clark’s painting had likely been painted in the 16th century, while the others are original. He explained that the painting had been badly damaged and was partly repainted. When restored, it was removed from its original wooden panel and put on canvas. The restorer then deliberately left the painting partially unrestored rather than attempt to reconstruct Piero’s creation of the Virgin’s face. That was a choice some people see as “evidence of poor painting rather than as restoration never done,” Edgerton said. “We hope Michael Conforti will build a whole symposium around the painting.”
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Soccer Hall of Fame Adds Members, Awards Scholarships

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- The 2026 CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place at Berkshire Hills Country Club on Thursday.
 
The Hall of Fame's mission is to preserve the sport's history in Berkshire County, to honor excellence within the game and to make a connection between the generations that bring communities together. With players who last played on a soccer field in Berkshire County in the 1960s to the scholarship winners at the banquet on May 14th who played their last high school game in the fall of last year, we are achieving our goal. 
 
It is worth noting that this class of inductees is stellar. We have four County MVP selections, 14 All-Berkshire selections, eight All-Western Mass selections and, and nine captain honors, five four-year varsity starters and one five-year varsity starter. 
 
The players were introduced by committee chairmen Al Belanger and Patrick West. The scholarship winners were introduced by Chris Dumas, a member of the CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame committee. The photographer for the evening was Ricco Fruscio. Over the past 21 years, the scholarships awarded to high school seniors in Berkshire County have topped $250,000.  
 
The 2026 Inductees:
Katie Dumas Sturm (Wahconah 2015) was a hard-nosed, and relentless four-year starter for Wahconah. She was a two-year captain in the middle of the field, scoring and assisting on clutch goals in big games. She was rewarded with being named All Berkshire, and All Western Mass in her senior year. She is married to Brent Sturm (who is also being inducted into the hall of fame this year) and has a son Banks and a 7-week-old Everett Michael. She works at General Dynamics. 
 
Brent Sturm (Wahconah 2009) was named to the All Berkshire Team in both his junior and senior years and won a Western Mass championship during his time at Wahconah. He also went on to have a stellar career at Wentworth Institute. He and his wife, Katie, are the first husband and wife inductees into the CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame in the same year.  After college, he helped coach the Wahconah Soccer and basketball teams. He works at General Dynamics.
   
Nicole Gamberoni (Lenox 2019) was an impact player on her team for five years while at Lenox making All-Berkshire teams four times. She was captain twice, finished with 107 points, and was the league MVP two times. She also went on to play soccer at AIC. She is working at Lenox High School while she is getting her master’s degree. 
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