George Heard Hamilton admires a painting at the Clark Art Institute in 1972. (Photo by William Teague, courtesy of the Clark.)
WILLIAMSTOWN — George Heard Hamilton, former director of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute and professor of art, emeritus, at Williams College, died Monday in Williamstown. He was 93.
Considered one of the foremost interpreters of early modern art, his work widely influenced scholarship in the field. His nine books included “Manet and His Critics†(1954), “Painting and Sculpture in Europe, 1880-1940†(1967), and “Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture†(1970).
Professor Hamilton taught from 1936 to 1966 at Yale University and served as associate director of the Yale University Art Gallery.
"In the 1940s through the 1960s, George Heard Hamilton was 'Mr. Modern Art' at Yale," said Robert Herbert, world-renowned Impressionism scholar and professor emeritus at Mount Holyoke College. "If you were a graduate student in the United States at that time, George Heard Hamilton was ‘Mr. Modern Art.' It's very difficult to express why he is admired so much. It has a lot to do with the kind of moral compass he had and his understanding that the study of 20th-century art had to be tied to literature and culture, especially poetry."
In 1966, Professor Hamilton moved from New Haven to Williamstown to join the Clark Art Institute. He founded and served as the first director of the Graduate Program in the History of Art, a master's degree program run jointly by the Clark and Williams College.
"The renowned scholarship of George Heard Hamilton and his accomplishments as director of the Clark Art Institute from 1966 to 1977 cannot be underestimated," said Michael Conforti, current Clark director. "As one of the foremost historians, critics and scholars of the 20th century, George left an indelible impact on the Clark and the museum world. He is one of the few notable art historians of the last half of the 20th century who chose to oversee an art museum. He established the research and academic foundation for the Clark Art Institute through the founding of the Clark's art history library, now one of the largest art history libraries in the country, and he established the Williams College/Clark Art Institute Graduate Program in the History of Art, which, too, has become one of the leading programs of its kind in the United States. These programs have continued to distinguish the institution as both a pioneering center for scholarship and one of the leading art museums in the nation."
Michael Shapiro, director of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Ga., a student of Professor Hamilton's in the graduate program, said, "George Heard Hamilton's 1975 seminar at the Clark Art Institute on Impressionism was discursive in style and piquant in tone. His wry observations on the changing seasons in the Berkshires, or his listening to Bach on NPR or the virtues of the Oxford English Dictionary tied back to the subject at hand and also reflected the unending curiosity and activity of his mind."
Professor Hamilton also initiated the Clark's full-scale exhibition program in 1976. Shows during his tenure included “Jongkind and the Pre-Impressionists†(1976) and “The Grand Mogul: Imperial Painting in India, 1600-1660†(1978). Under his leadership, an important building addition housing the library, auditorium and exhibition galleries was completed in 1973. Professor Hamilton's noteworthy acquisitions include Monet's “Rouen Cathedral,†two major print collections, one of late 19th-century prints and the other of works by Albrecht Dürer, and a 1968 gift of 12 northern Renaissance paintings from the executors of Gov. Lehman's Estate and the Edith and Herbert Lehman Foundation.
Professor Hamilton served as a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, vice-chairman of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., and vice president of the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, Conn. He also had been president of the College Art Association of America, a trustee of the Association of Art Museum Directors, and president of the American section of the International Association of Art Critics.
In 1973, he was named a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in London, and in 1970, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was selected as Slade professor of art at the University of Cambridge in 1971 and as the Samuel H. Kress professor in residence at the National Gallery of Art in 1978-79. He earned Yale Graduate School's Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal and the Association of Art Dealers of America's Award for Distinguished Accomplishment in Art History. Williams awarded him an honorary degree in 1977, and the Graduate Program in Art History initiated The George Heard Hamilton Lecture Series in 1989.
He retired from Williams in 1975 but continued to teach until 1985 in the graduate program. He retired as director of the Clark in 1977.
Professor Hamilton was born on June 23, 1910, to Frank Arthur Hamilton and Georgia Heard Hamilton. He grew up in Pittsburgh, Pa., before earning his bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. at Yale in 1932, 1934 and 1942. He was a research assistant at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore. Md., from 1934 to 1936.
He leaves his wife, Polly (Wiggin) Hamilton of Williamstown; a daughter, Jennet Hamilton LaCasse of Royal Palm Beach, Fla.; a son, Richard Heard Hamilton of Edgartown; and two grandchildren.
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State Fire Marshal Offers Cold Snap Heating Safety Tips
STOW, Mass. —With temperatures expected to dip into the teens overnight this week, Massachusetts State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine is reminding residents to stay warm safely and protect their loved ones from some of the most common home heating fires.
"We're expecting very cold weather in the nights ahead, and home heating appliances will be working overtime," said State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine. "Heating equipment is the leading cause of carbon monoxide at home and the second leading cause of residential fires. Whether you're using gas, oil, solid fuel, or space heaters to keep warm, be sure you keep safe, too."
State Fire Marshal Davine said there were nearly 6,000 heating fires in Massachusetts from 2019 to 2023. These fires claimed eight lives, caused 139 injuries to firefighters and residents, and contributed to over $42 million in damage. And in 2023 alone, Massachusetts fire departments reported finding carbon monoxide at nearly 5,000 non-fire incidents.
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms
Every household needs working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms on every level of their home. Check the manufacturing date on the back of your alarms so you know when to replace them: smoke alarms should be replaced after 10 years, and carbon monoxide alarms should be replaced after 5 to 10 years depending on the model. If your alarms take alkaline batteries, put in fresh batteries twice a year when you change your clocks. If it's time to replace your alarms, choose new ones from a well-known, national brand. Select smoke alarms with a sealed, long-life battery and a hush feature.
Natural Gas and Oil Heat
If you have a furnace, water heater, or oil burner, have it professionally checked and serviced each year. This will help it run more efficiently, which will save you money and could save your life. Always keep a three-foot "circle of safety" around the appliance clear of anything that could catch fire. Never store painting supplies, aerosol cans, or other flammable items near these appliances. If you smell gas, don't use any electrical switches or devices: get out, stay out, and call 9-1-1 right away.
Residents struggling to pay for heating bills or maintenance may be eligible for assistance through the Massachusetts home energy assistance program (HEAP). No matter what type of heating equipment you use, HEAP may be able to help you pay your winter heating bills or maintain your heating system. All Massachusetts residents are encouraged to explore eligibility for this free program and apply for assistance.
Solid Fuel Heating
If you use a fireplace or a stove that burns wood, pellets, or coal, always keep the area around it clear for three feet in all directions. This circle of safety should be free of furniture, drapery, rugs, books and papers, fuel, and any other flammable items. To prevent sparks and embers from escaping, use a fireplace screen or keep the stove door closed while burning. Use only dry, seasoned hardwood and don't use flammable liquids to start the fire. To dispose of ashes, wait until they are cool and shovel them into a metal bucket with a lid and place it outside at least 10 feet away from the building.
Have your chimney and flue professionally inspected and cleaned each year. Most chimney fires are caused by burning creosote, a tarry substance that builds up as the fireplace, wood stove, or pellet stove is used. If burning creosote, sparks, embers, or hot gases escape through cracks in the flue or chimney, they can cause a fire that spreads to the rest of the structure. Annual cleaning and inspection can minimize this risk. Contact the Massachusetts Chimney Sweep Guild or Chimney Safety Institute of America to identify reputable local companies.
Space Heaters
Keep space heaters at least three feet from curtains, bedding, and anything else that can burn. Plug them directly into a wall socket, not an extension cord or a power strip, and remember that they're for temporary use. Always turn a space heater off when you leave the room or go to sleep.
When purchasing a space heater, select one that's been tested and labeled by a nationally recognized testing company, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL) or Intertek (ETL). Newer space heaters should have an automatic shut-off switch that turns the device off if it tips over. Unvented kerosene space heaters and portable propane space heaters are not permitted for residential use in Massachusetts, State Fire Marshal Davine said: the risk of fire and carbon monoxide poisoning that they pose is too great.
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