From Wikimedia Commons One of four surviving originals of the Magna Carta, or Great Charter, from 1215 currently held at the British Library.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The staff at the Clark Art Institute works for months and sometimes years to put together important exhibits of world class works.

 

This one fell into their laps.

 

Next summer, the Clark will host one of four original drafts of the Magna Carta when it crosses the Atlantic as part of a celebration leading to the document's 800th anniversary in 2015.

 

The announcement was made not at the South Street museum but in Pittsfield, where Rep. Cory Atkins, D-Concord, Monday morning trumpeted the visit during an discussion on the importance of tourism.

 

Atkins was instrumental in bringing one of the most important documents of Western Civilization to the Bay State, the Clark's director of collections and exhibitions said.

 

"We were contacted by someone in the Massachusetts Cultural Council office," Kathleen Morris said. "Rep. Atkins, the chairwoman of the (Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development), had been talking to officials in the British government about the possibility of bringing one of the copies to Massachusetts. She had the idea that if we could bring the document, it would be ideal to show it in two places — in the eastern part of the state and in the west.

 

"We were asked if we would be interested, and we said, 'Wow!' "

 

Historical artifacts of this nature are not the Clark's stock and trade. Morris has been at the museum since 2005 and said she is not aware of any similar exhibit, though she still needs to pick the brains of her colleagues to confirm that.

 

It is understandable that there are still questions to be asked.

 

"We just found out about this 10 days ago," Morris said.

 

In fact, the dates of the visit are still to be determined, but Morris said she is confident that the Magna Carta will arrive at the Clark sometime around late August 2014 and stay through mid- to late October.

 

The document first will be exhibited at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, and Morris said she believes it has at least one other U.S. stop on its tour — at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Beyond that, there may be other visits to England's former colonies, but she is not sure.

 

The 1297 Magna Carta at the National Archives.

The four surviving original copies of the Magna Carta are in England. A reissue of the charter dated to 1297 (and once owned by Ross Perot) is on permanent loan to the National Archives and was recently conserved and moved to a new gallery focusing on human rights.

 

"It is the core of all our concepts of law and concepts that are listed in the United States Constitution," said Atkins in announcing the exhibition coup to applause at the Berkshire Museum on Monday morning. She was giving the heads up to the gathering of arts and cultural leaders to take advantage of the unique exhibit.

 

"We want you to all start planning now!" she urged them.

 

The Magna Carta, of course, dates back to pre-Colonial days. It passed its 400th birthday a few years before the Pilgrims alighted on Plymouth Rock.

 

In the early days of the 13th century, a group of English nobleman forced King John to consent to the document, which placed limits on royal authority.

 

It is regarded as an important milestone on England's path to democracy and the end of the divine right of kings.

 

The Magna Carta 2015 Committee in England is orchestrating a multiyear celebration of the document leading up to June 19, 2015, the 800th anniversary of date when the Magna Carta was sealed — not signed, notes the committee's website, www.magnacarta800th.com.

 

Of course, the Clark will be making a little history of its own — on a much smaller scale — next July when it opens its long-awaited Visitor, Exhibition and Conference Center as well as its remodeled 1955 building.

 

While most of the museum staff will be gearing up for that big event, Morris will be focusing some of her time coordinating special events around the Magna Carta exhibit, which likely will include special programs for area school groups and could involve coordination with Williams College's collection of Founding Documents.

 

Those documents, including the Declaration of Independence, are currently on display at the Williams College Museum of Art while the Chapin Library is being renovated, Morris noted. As it happens, Chapin Library also is due to reopen in the summer 2014.

 

"It might be a nice synergy," Morris said. "But we haven't had a chance to talk about it with the college yet."