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Senior curator Richard Rand was honored by the French government for a lifetime of dedication to French art.

Clark Art Curator Knighted By French Government

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Clark Art Institute curator Richard Rand was knighted at the museum Wednesday in the French government's Order of Arts and Letters.

Rand was presented the Chevalier award from Consul General of France in Boston Christophe Guilhou for his lifetime dedication to French art. Rand has been the curator at the Clark since 1997 and has been the lead for multiple major exhibitions on the subject.

"Mr. Rand's achievements have not gone unnoticed by the French government," Guilhou said before presenting the medal. "France is very honored to have such a friend."

Rand got his first taste of French culture at age four when his father was a consular officer with the State Department and the family moved there. Rand started his education there and learned to read in French before English.

"My love of French culture, no doubt, was sparked by having spent five of my earliest years living in France," Rand said. "France has always been my second country — one where I felt close to home when I was away from home and that makes this honor particularly meaningful to me."

Later in life, he focused his education on French art by earning his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College and later his doctorate from the University of Michigan.

In 1997, Rand joined the Clark Art Institute and became the lead in major exhibitions on French painters as well as becoming a lecturer on art history at Williams College.

Guilhou said every French person who has visited the Clark is "blown away" by the collection Rand is responsible for acquiring for the museum.

"You are a true lover of France and you have a passion for our country," Guihou said. "We are grateful for your service and you dedication."

A few months ago, Rand got an official letter in the mail from the French government acknowledging his work.

"I was surprised and honored," Rand said after the ceremony. "It made me think about all that I've done over the years and how much I love French art."

That dedication is going to continue at the Clark, Rand said. He will be opening another exhibit this summer.

Rand joins fellow Americans Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman, Paul Auster and George Clooney as recipients of the award.
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WCMA: 'Cracking the Code on Numerology'

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) opens a new exhibition, "Cracking the Cosmic Code: Numerology in Medieval Art."
 
The exhibit opened on March 22.
 
According to a press release: 
 
The idea that numbers emanate sacred significance, and connect the past with the future, is prehistoric and global. Rooted in the Babylonian science of astrology, medieval Christian numerology taught that God created a well-ordered universe. Deciphering the universe's numerical patterns would reveal the Creator's grand plan for humanity, including individual fates. 
 
This unquestioned concept deeply pervaded European cultures through centuries. Theologians and lay people alike fervently interpreted the Bible literally and figuratively via number theory, because as King Solomon told God, "Thou hast ordered all things in measure, and number, and weight" (Wisdom 11:22). 
 
"Cracking the Cosmic Code" explores medieval relationships among numbers, events, and works of art. The medieval and Renaissance art on display in this exhibition from the 5th to 17th centuries—including a 15th-century birth platter by Lippo d'Andrea from Florence; a 14th-century panel fragment with courtly scenes from Palace Curiel de los Ajos, Valladolid, Spain; and a 12th-century wall capital from the Monastery at Moutiers-Saint-Jean—reveal numerical patterns as they relate to architecture, literature, gender, and timekeeping. 
 
"There was no realm of thought that was not influenced by the all-consuming belief that all things were celestially ordered, from human life to stones, herbs, and metals," said WCMA Assistant Curator Elizabeth Sandoval, who curated the exhibition. "As Vincent Foster Hopper expounds, numbers were 'fundamental realities, alive with memories and eloquent with meaning.' These artworks tease out numerical patterns and their multiple possible meanings, in relation to gender, literature, and the celestial sphere. 
 
"The exhibition looks back while moving forward: It relies on the collection's strengths in Western medieval Christianity, but points to the future with goals of acquiring works from the global Middle Ages. It also nods to the history of the gallery as a medieval period room at this pivotal time in WCMA's history before the momentous move to a new building," Sandoval said.
 
Cracking the Cosmic Code runs through Dec. 22.
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