The kids were at friends' houses for the afternoon, so the Man and I slipped away to Massachusetts to visit the Clark again. It was the last day of a Pissaro exhibition. Pissaro was an anarchist, in the older sense of the word - he didn't rampage through the streets or assassinate people, but he did favour sustainable communal rural living without government, private property or inequality. Many of his paintings were of domestic servants and agricutural workers, whom he held in high regard. But the most intimate and moving work on show at the Clark depicted members of his family, especially his children. In particular there was a heartbreaking drawing of his beloved young daughter Minette as she lay dying.
We looked around the rest of the Clark. There was a small exhibition of British and French landscapes, featuring several Constables. I'm generally not a huge fan of Constable (never really cared for The Hay Wain) but I was taken aback by how at home I felt looking at his landscapes - I do love the English countryside.
Then at the Stone Hill Center, up the hill from the main building, we were impressed by the extraordinary works of Ghanaian artist El Anatsui - huge fabric-like constructions made from discarded bottlecaps (Exile #3, take note). Stunning.
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