Clark Art Lecture on Lusia Roldan

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — On Tuesday, March 4, the Clark Art Institute's Research and Academic Program presents a talk by Marjorie (Holly) Trusted (University of Glasgow, Scotland / Center for Spain in America Fellow) titled "Who Was Luisa Roldán?" 
 
This free event takes place at 5:30 pm in the Manton Research Center auditorium.
 
According to a press release:
 
In recent years, the extraordinary wood and terracotta sculptures of Luisa Roldán (1652–1706) have attracted much attention; a number have been acquired by major museums in the United States. However, questions of attribution and her own identity as an artist can be complex. Her training and stylistic development in Seville and Cádiz, as well as her later activity at the court in Madrid, reveal a web of interconnections. She nevertheless remains an enigmatic figure; her statues and groups arguably affected the evolution of sculpture in baroque Spain, yet many details of her life are still unknown. As a woman sculptor, she was clearly exceptional. This lecture discusses her work, as well as the challenges of studying such an artist, many of whose works are still in enclosed convents in Spain.
 
Marjorie (Holly) Trusted, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (London), was the longstanding senior curator of sculpture at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London until 2019. She has published and lectured widely on sculpture. Currently a Senior Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow, she was previously Senior Research Fellow at Durham University in England (2022–23). Trusted is collaborating with specialist Catherine Hall-van den Elsen on a scholarly study of the Spanish baroque sculptor Luisa Roldán. At the Clark, Trusted will continue her work on Roldán.
 
Free. Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524. A 5 pm reception in the Manton Research Center reading room precedes the event. 

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Williamstown Fin Comm Mulls Use of $2M Windfall

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Finance Committee last week discussed how the town should use the $2 million it is in line to receive from the sale of the former town garage site.
 
"My understanding from [Town Manager Robert Menicocci] is, unlike the [American Rescue Plan Act] funds, which were distributed by the Select Board, this is just another revenue for the town and has to go through town meeting," Chair Frederick Puddester told his colleagues. "It would be good for us to think about what our priorities might be for this, to give feedback to [Finance Director David Fierro] and [Menicocci] on how to deal with the $2 million that fell out of the sky."
 
Fierro confirmed to the committee that proceeds from the sale of 59 Water St. to Williams College would be classified as "special revenue" and sit outside the town's budget, needing an appropriation of town meeting to spend all or part of the windfall.
 
Melissa Cragg suggested that the special revenue could be left in free cash, but it would generate less of a return on the investment than it would if it went to, for example, the town's stabilization fund. One potential drawback of putting it in stabilization, Puddester noted, is that a two-thirds vote of town meeting then would be required for a withdrawal.
 
Suzanne Stinson, who was later elected to chair the committee for the 2026-27 meeting cycle, indicated that the $2 million could be used to address the issue of tax base growth that has concerned the Fin Comm for years.
 
"I feel like it would be important to put that into something that has a long-term outcome for the town, given how much we're talking about significant structural changes," Stinson said. "We talked about if we had a way of gaining development — either commercial real estate or residential development. Those things, in particular, could conceivably add to the tax revenue.
 
"If there's an opportunity, I'd like to make sure we think through those opportunities."
 
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