“Like Breath on Glass: Whistler,
Inness and the Art of Painting Softly”
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown.
June 22–October 19, 2008

Over the years, the Clark Art Institute has been home to many marvelous exhibitions that have not only delighted viewers but have also illuminated little-explored aspects of art, often altering and enhancing our understanding of an artist and his times. I think, for example, of the exhibitions the Clark devoted to the late landscapes of Turner, to Renoir in Algeria, and to the work of the Viennese architect Josef Hoffmann. And I remember especially the fascinating look at Degas’s Petite Danseuse and the seamy demimonde of the Paris ballet. No one who saw that exhibition will be able to regard that forlorn young girl as a sweet ingénue from the Impressionist confectionary any longer.

“Like Breath on Glass: Whistler, Inness and the ...