A Match Made in Massachusetts

Modern Kicks points us to the Boston Globe's news that the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams announced a partnership last week that would give the Clark 30,000 square feet of storage and exhibition space at Mass MoCA in exchange for a seven-figure contribution to the museum's endowment. The Clark is flush with cash and bursting at the seams with artworks--the Manton Foundation, founded by former AIG president and chairman Sir Edwin A.G. Manton, gave the Clark $50 million for its research and academic program this summer, as well as $40 million worth of Turners, Constables, and other British artists. Consider that Mass MoCA is strapped for cash and only 15 minutes down the road, and this seems like a match made in heaven.

The Clark's space at Mass MoCA won't be ready until 2011, but the institute's Tadao Ando-designed Stone Hill Center opens next year with additional space to show the collection.