Guillaume Lethière and his Worlds

FAIN: GI-293275-23

Clark Art Institute (Williamstown, MA 01267-2878)
Esther Bell (Project Director: January 2023 to present)

Implementation of an exhibition on the life and legacy of Guadeloupean-French Neoclassical and Romantic painter Guillaume Lethière (1760–1832).

The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute (the Clark) requests support from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for its presentation of the exhibition, "Guillaume Lethière and his Worlds," and accompanying programming, at the Clark in Williamstown, Massachusetts, June 15 – October 14, 2024. Born in the French colony of Guadeloupe, Guillaume Guillon-Lethière (1760–1832), the son of a French landowner and a formerly enslaved woman, was a key figure in the French Neoclassical and Romantic movements but is relatively unknown today. "Guillaume Lethière and his Worlds" will serve as an introduction for visitors to his remarkable life and achievements and will investigate questions relevant both in Lethière’s time and today regarding the reception and assessment of Caribbean and other BIPOC artists. The exhibition will be accompanied by a range of family, public, and scholarly programs.