Through Shen-kan

Through Shen-Kan is the account of a 1908-09 expedition to the Shensi and Kansu provinces of northern China. The expedition was funded by Robert Sterling Clark, one of the heirs to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune. Clark was joined by the naturalist and writer, Arthur de Carle Sowerby, with whom he co-wrote the book. Published in 1912, the book recounts their journey, along with observations on geography, zoology, astronomy, geology, meteorology, and culture

Turn the pages of Through Shen-Kan

David A. Hanson Collection of the History of Photomechanical Reproduction

This collection documents the history of photomechanical printing from its development in 1826 through the perfection of three-color printing at the beginning of the twentieth century. All major intaglio, planotype, and relief printing methods are represented. The collection includes examples of virtually all categories of photographically-illustrated books, reports, accounts, treatises, catalogues, pamphlets, and ephemera. Pioneering firms and individual innovators are represented in equal numbers. While the subject matter is particularly rich in American material, numerous European examples, including Blanquart-Evrard's monumental survey of photography and photomechanical illustration, La photographie, ses origines, ses progres, ses transformations (1870) and the photolithographs of Simoneau and Toovey in Spa et ses environs (1863), round out the collection. The collection includes approximately 4500 digital images in 340 objects.

Lost Art - Masterpieces Destroyed in War

The Clark Photograph and Clippings Archive is a rich resource containing close to a million images that were used to teach and study art in the first part of the 20th century. The Lost Art collection draws on this archive to document works of art that were destroyed as a result of war and its aftermath. In many cases, the only documentation of these works are the black and white photographs and clippings in library and museum collections.

Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute Library Exhibition Files

This collection contains records of displays held in the Clark library beginning in 2007. The library generally mounts thematic exhibitions based on its holdings four times a year. Recent displays have included works from Lapp Princess Press, early documents of the Pop Art movement, and images of the American West as seen by modern masters of photography.