The Clarks of Cooperstown [DECKLE EDGE] (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Curator and writer Weber (Balthus) tells the fascinating story of an art-obsessed family—especially Sterling and Stephen Clark, whose affinity with artists, says Weber, went beyond the usual collector's. The family fortune was founded by Edward Clark, as the business partner of sewing machine mogul Isaac Singer. His son Alfred used his inheritance to support the sculptor George Grey Barnard and the piano prodigy Josef Hofmann. Sterling and Stephen were Alfred's sons. Sterling was a brash bon vivant who married a French actress and took part in an abortive movement to depose President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose policies he believed were destroying America's capitalist economy. He also built a museum in Williamstown, Mass., to house his extraordinary collection of Courbets, Renoirs and others. Stephen, a founder of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., was reserved and dour, yet adventurous as an art collector, buying the works of avant-garde artists like Van Gogh, Picasso and Brancusi. One of the founding trustees of the Museum of Modern Art, he stirred up controversy when he fired the museum's first director, Alfred Barr. Weber's delightfully written study includes much insightful psychological speculation about these larger-than-life men. (An exhibit abut Sterling and Stephen Clark and their collection will be at the Metropolitan Musem of Art in New York City May 22–Aug. 19.) 16 pages of color illus., b&w photos throughout. (May)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* The Clark family helped shape American commerce and culture, yet their saga is little known. Weber (Balthus, 1999) portrays the Clarks with splendid animation and a deep understanding of the passion for art. Attorney Edward Clark amassed the considerable family fortune by shrewdly managing Isaac Singer's sewing-machine company, and built New York's famed Dakota apartment building. His son and heir, Alfred, "lived a carefully divided life" as husband to an exceptional woman, father of four sons, and a man who loved men. Two of his sons inherited Alfred's devotion to art and largesse. Audacious and macho Sterling was a pleasure seeker and a fanatic collector. The owner of 39 Renoirs, he built the renowned Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Massachusetts. Sadly, his over-the-top emotions instigated a decades-long estrangement from his brothers. Proper and hardworking philanthropist Stephen was a quietly brilliant collector (Edward Hopper was a favorite). Instrumental in establishing New York's Museum of Modern Art, he also built the Baseball Hall of Fame. Weber's exquisitely sensitive yet hugely entertaining group portrait of the Clarks is a potent tale of family and wealth, anguish and the solace of art. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; First edition (May 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307263479
• ISBN-13: 978-0307263476
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #617,120 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't believe everything you read in the NY Times!, May 23, 2007

By	G. D. Edwards (NYC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Debby Applegate in the May 20, 2007 NY Times describes this as a "flawed family biography" although she admits it is "fascinating." It is indeed a fascinating family saga which resulted in great legacies to the National Gallery in Washington, DC; the Clark museum in Williamstown, MA; the Modern and Metropolitan museums in NYC; and several cultural institutions in Cooperstown, NY; not to mention the "Dakota" apartment building in NYC. Don't be misled by Ms. Applegate's smart alecky review.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great story, poorly told, June 30, 2007

By	Lev Raphael (Okemos, MI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read biographies all the time and this one had the potential to be superb: Singer Company fortune, amazing art collections, fascist plot against FDR (yes!), surprising sexual liaisons, family feuds of a rarified nature. However, it feels tedious to wade through, because the author is not a gifted writer, gushes too much when he should be more objective, and spends far too much time rhapsodizing over individual works of art to the point where we lose sight of the people collecting them. An editor could have pruned what feels like endless repetitions of Sterling's shopping trips and pushed the author to analyze, not emote. I understand from a New York Times article (not the review mentioned by the other reviewer) that the book was rushed. It certainly feels like it missed a stage in the editorial process.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Clarks of Cooperstown, July 12, 2007

By	D. Irving (TOMS RIVER, NEW JERSEY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having attended school in Cooperstown in the Otesaga Hotel, I found the book fascinating as I had not known of the Clarks as other than the rich family in town. Seldom there but respected by the townsfolk.
The book was well written and, while not, a bestseller it gives a vivid portait of art collecting in this country.
A good read.