Jay A. Clarke – författare

Business leader and arts patron Sir Edwin A. G. Manton (1909–2005) and his wife Florence, Lady Manton, assembled an outstanding collection of 18th- and 19th-century British art. A gift to the Clark Art Institute from the Manton Foundation in 2007, their collection features more than three hundred oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, and prints, including works by John Constable, J. M. W. Turner, Thomas Gainsborough, and William Blake.In a series of wide-ranging essays, prominent scholars consider the major works and themes in the collection, relating them to larger issues within the field of British studies. Individual essays are devoted to Constable's oil sketches, cloud studies, and magisterial painting The Wheat Field; the growth of the watercolor tradition; print portfolios and narrative series; Thomas Rowlandson's satiric drawings; and Gainsborough's use of experimental materials as revealed through recent scientific analysis. The volume concludes with an illustrated checklist of the works in the collection.Distributed for the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute

A fascinating view of the career of Bridget Riley, one of the most significant living artists, through her personal archive of her own works on paperDevoted exclusively to the artist’s works on paper, Bridget Riley Drawings: From the Artist’s Studio explores the importance of these works not only as a means of visual experimentation but as works of art in their own right. Throughout her working life, Riley has preserved works of particular significance, creating an archive that records her constant artistic inquiry and development. The studies presented in the book are drawn entirely from this personal collection, with Riley’s own input. They demonstrate the artist’s progression from early figurative works, through the monochrome geometry of the 1960s, to the examination of color that has characterized the second half of her long career. The choice of work explores the themes that have absorbed Riley in different periods and highlights key influences: the importance of life drawing to her and the significance of artists such as Seurat and Mondrian. The book illustrates—literally and figuratively—the story of a productive and constantly experimental career, underpinned by drawing.  Distributed for Modern Art PressExhibition Schedule:The Art Institute of Chicago(September 17, 2022–January 16, 2023)Hammer Museum, Los Angeles(January 29–May 7, 2023)The Morgan Library & Museum, New York(June 16–October 22, 2023)