A Short History of Gilded-Age Art Corcoran Celebrates 75th Anniversary of ëClark Collectioní by Gary Tischler Antiquities to Impressionism: The William A. Clark Collection,î now at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, is best viewed as a multifaceted history. Otherwise, the mish-mash of paintings, artifacts, ceramics, rugs, tapestries and objects from Greek antiquity and the (predominantly French) paintings, most of them rich and lush in subject and the kind of color that induces swoons, will simply overwhelm a viewer. You get a little dizzy walking around here. Itís like hanging out in an overly full (predominantly French) wine cellar. This exhibitionóìeclecticî is a word you will see in a lot of the writing and information about Clarkís collection, urges, tastes and adventuresóis just plain full of all kinds of stuff, of precisely the kinds of objects and art works a man like Clark would collect. So itís best to see this as a history of a certain period in America, a history of a now extinct American typeóAmericanus tycoonusóa trace picture of American attitudes toward European art and the rise of the Corcoran Gallery as a cultural institution in Washington vis-a-vis its connection to Willi am Clark. The collection amounts to a little mini-history of the gilded age as well. Clark was a classic American tycoon, belonging in the company of the Fricks, the Astors, the Morgans. He made his money as a Montana copper baron, which resulted in a huge fortune and bigger ambitions that spilled over into the arena of politics, society and the arts. After one failed election attempt, Clark was elected to the Senate, serving from 1901 to 1907. It was during this period that a long and fruitful relationship began with the Corcoran, beginning with the loan of the huge, dramatic canvas of ìThe Trial of Queen Katherineî by American artist Edwin Austin Abbey (one of a series on scenes from Shakespearean plays). The Corcoran was at the time Washingtonís most prestigious art museum, and the placements of paintings Clark had collected added luster to his reputation and that of the museum. A quantum leap occurred upon Clarkís death in 1925, when it was discovered that Clark had bequeathed his collection to the Corcoran. That meant that Clarkís European and American paintings, European sculpture, drawings, antiquities, tapestries, rugs, furniture, lace, ceramics and a complete 18th-century French period room would go to the Corcoranóa development that boosted the museumís size, fortune and reputation and more than ever nailed down its status as a major Washington institution. The entire collection had previously been housed in Clarkís Fifth Avenue mansion in New York. Clark loved living there, loved being surrounded by all of the wondrous things he had amassed. That passion would appear to have been genuine: When he died at 86, his funeral service was held in the main picture gallery, his coffin surrounded by the works of his much-collected and beloved French painter Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. Corot is much in evidence here, highlighted by his famous nude ìRepose,î which has a tense and windy feel of anticipation to it. Clark, like many American collectors, was enamored of many things French, notably Parisian. Needless to say, Clark was not all that interested in cutting-edge art or the modern in terms of collecting, with the singular exception of several works by Degas along with a Prendergast, which is about where the advent of the modern stops in this collection. But he obviously understood, liked and certainly treasured beautiful thingsóall sorts of beautiful things. To contemporary eyes, some of them seem prosaic and illustrative, such as the Abbey painting and the Joan of Arc series. To other eyes, they have historical pull. Some are just plain wonderful and startling. The under-glass section of Greek antiquities still seems like a magic actóthe vases, the ìFighting Erotesî example of terracotta dating back to the second and first centuries B.C., for instance, or the generous sampling of Renaissance Italian maiolica, glazed, beautifully decorated earthenware. Thereís a healthy sampling of Dutch paintings, most notable among them a Gerrit Dou and Jan Steen, but there are also impressive landscapes by Jan van Goyen and Van der Neer. From the 18th century are sharply intimate portraits by lesser-known painters, including Elisabeth-Louise VigÈe-LeBrunís revealing ìPortrait of Madame du Barryî and a knockout portrait of a Mrs. Vere of Stonebyres by the Scottish painter Sir Henry Raeburn. This painting stops you in your tracks with the informality of someone who was very much alive and could step out of the paintingódancing and inviting. Itís a painting that moves in both senses of the word. There are surprises here around every corner, something surely for everyone, depending on taste. If Clark was not adventurous in embracing forward-looking art, his taste was certainly generous, expansive and curious, venturing out into all the possibilities in his world. More than 250 works from ìAntiquities to Impressionism: The William A. Clark Collectionî will be on display at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, 500 17th St., NW, through Feb. 4. Please call (202) 639-1700 for more information. Gary Tischler is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.