Robert Sterling Clark (June 25, 1877 – December 29, 1956), an heir to the

Singer Sewing Machine Singer Corporation is an American manufacturer of consumer sewing machines, first established as I. M. Singer & Co. in 1851 by Isaac M. Singer with New York lawyer Edward C. Clark. Best known for its sewing machines, it was renamed Singer Man ...

fortune, was an American

art collector A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

horse breeder Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

, and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

Biography

Known by his middle name, Sterling Clark served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in the Philippines and in China during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

, where he served under General

Smedley Butler Smedley Darlington Butler (July 30, 1881June 21, 1940) was a United States Marine Corps officer and writer. During his 34-year military career, he fought in the Philippine–American War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Mexican Revolution, World War I, ...

. Butler, in 1934, claimed Clark had some connection to what Butler believed was an alleged political conspiracy in 1933 to overthrow United States President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

and make Butler the nation's dictator. Following his graduation from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1899 with a degree in engineering, Clark visited Paris, France and over the years would return there frequently, eventually maintaining a residence there. In Paris, he met actress Francine Clary whom he married in 1919. He owned several residences: New York City,

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and the county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in ...

, "Sunridge Farm" in

Upperville, Virginia Upperville is a small unincorporated village in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States, along U.S. Route 50 fifty miles from downtown Washington, D.C. and near the Loudoun County line. Founded in the 1790s along Pantherskin Creek, it was origi ...

, and Paris, France.

Art collecting

Sterling Clark purchased his first Impressionist painting,

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; ; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French people, French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionism, Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially femininity, fe ...

's Girl Crocheting, in 1916. He and his wife

Francine :''This is a disambiguation page for the common name Francine.'' Francine is a female given name. The name is of French origin. The name Francine was most popular in France itself during the 1940s (Besnard & Desplanques, 2003), and was well used ...

(1876–1960) continued to collect art rapidly and towards the end of their lives established their collection as a museum near the campus of

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

in Williamstown Mass. They did this after originally making plans with his brothers

Stephen Carlton Clark Stephen Carlton Clark (August 29, 1882 – September 17, 1960) was an American art collector, businessman, newspaper publisher and philanthropist. He founded the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Biography Clark was the young ...

and

F. Ambrose Clark Frederick Ambrose Clark (August 1, 1880 – February 26, 1964) was an American heir and Equestrianism, equestrian. Early life "Brose" Clark was born on August 1, 1880, in Cooperstown, New York. He was the third son of Alfred Corning Clark (1844 ...

to combine their collections in a single art museum in Cooperstown. After a falling out among the brothers, Sterling not only cancelled such plans but also withdrew his share of the family fortune from the collective trust. He established his own foundation and sold off or donated all of his property holdings in Cooperstown. He donated the

Ernest Flagg Ernest Flagg (February 6, 1857 – April 10, 1947) was an American architect in the Beaux-Arts style. He was also an advocate for urban reform and architecture's social responsibility. Early life and education Flagg was born in Brooklyn, New ...

designed neoclassic YMCA building commissioned by his mother, Elizabeth Scriven Clark, in 1898 to the village in 1932, and it now houses village offices, the library and the Cooperstown Art Association. Almost no communication between Stephen and Sterling occurred again. Over the next five decades he and his wife collected numerous paintings by Renoir, plus dozens of paintings, sculptures and pastels by other Impressionist artists. In 1950, Sterling and Francine Clark chartered the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute as a home for their extensive art collection. The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. Located in Berkshire County, the town is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts metropolitan statis ...

opened its doors to the public in 1955. According to ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine, "In building their $3,000,000 Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, the Clarks ignored costs (Local boosters boast that the marble for the new museum was the biggest single order in Vermont since the U.S. Supreme Court.) but insisted on quality." Works in the collection included over 30 Renoirs as well as Dutch, Spanish and American painters such as

Winslow Homer Winslow Homer (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) was an American landscape painter and illustrator, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters of 19th-century America and a preeminent figure in ...

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, an ...

Frans Hals Frans Hals the Elder (, ; ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He lived and worked in Haarlem, a city in which the local authority of the day frowned on religious painting in places of worship but citizens liked to decorate thei ...

, and

Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French people, French Impressionism, Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, Print ...

1909 Expedition

He financed a 1909 Expedition which sought specimens from the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

into

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

and then to

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

provinces of China. He recruited the explorer

Arthur de Carle Sowerby Arthur de Carle Sowerby (8 July 1885 – 16 August 1954; ) was a British naturalist, exploration, explorer, writer, and publisher in China. His father was Arthur Sowerby (15 October 1857 – 27 June 1934; ). Background Arthur Sowerby was the s ...

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

for the trip, later publishing a book with Sowerby about the expedition entitled ''Through Shên-kan: the account of the Clark expedition in north China, 1908-9''. He established the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation which operates today from offices at 135 East 64th St., New York City.

Horse racing interests

Clark raced horses in the United States and in Europe. In the United States, his

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States ...

Current Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (hydr ...

, was voted the 1928 retrospective

American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance activity, typically involving ...

, whilst in England Galatea II won the

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile ...

and Oaks in 1939. The most noted horse owned and bred by Clark was Never Say Die (1951–1975), a

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

bred chestnut colt, though conceived in Ireland, before being shipped 'in utero' to Jonabell Farm, Lexington, where Clark's breeding activities were centred. Raced in England, he won the 1954

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, more commonly known as the Derby and sometimes referred to as the Epsom Derby, is a Group races, Group 1 flat Horse racing, horse race in England open to three-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run at Ep ...

at odds of at 33 to 1. He was ridden by 18-year-old

Lester Piggott Lester Keith Piggott (5 November 1935 – 29 May 2022) was an English professional jockey and horse trainer. With 4,493 career flat racing wins in Britain, including a record nine Epsom Derby victories, he is widely regarded as one of the grea ...

, the youngest jockey to ever win the Derby. Never Say Die also won the Rosslyn Stakes (ENG) and

St. Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over ...

(Gr.1). Upon retirement, Clark gifted the horse to the

National Stud The National Stud is a Thoroughbred stud farm in Newmarket which is owned by the Jockey Club. As well as commercial breeding services, it undertakes education and training activities and allows the public to visit the working stud on organised ...

. Following his marriage, Clark's interest in horses waned considerably. Yet during his lifetime he was known as a successful horse owner rather than as the art collector he's known as today.

References

Sterling and Francine Clark Art InstituteRobert Sterling Clark FoundationNever Say Die pedigree

External links

Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute 2006 exhibition, ''The Clark Brothers Collect: Impressionist and Early Modern Paintings''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Robert Sterling 1877 births 1956 deaths

Robert Sterling Robert Sterling (born William Sterling Hart; November 13, 1917 – May 30, 2006) was an American actor. He was best known for starring in the television series '' Topper'' (1953–1955). In 1960, Sterling was honored with a star on the Hollyw ...

Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science alumni American military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion American art collectors Philanthropists from New York (state) American racehorse owners and breeders Owners of Epsom Derby winners Explorers of China People from Cooperstown, New York People from Upperville, Virginia