About Clare

Hometown:
Princeton, NJ

University Partner:
Williams College

Degree:
Art History and Spanish

Grant Partner:
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Senior Mentor:
Dr. Alan Chong, Curator of the Collection

"Steamboat is wholly unique in many ways. The combination of the internship experience with communal living and the many Steamboat-sponsored events and activities is what truly sets the summer apart from other opportunities."

Scholar Background

At Williams College, Clare is a double Art History and Spanish major, which has allowed her to combine a relatively newfound passion for the visual arts with a lifelong love of languages and cultures. Just prior to beginning her Steamboat summer, she returned from a year of study in Madrid, Spain, where she had the privilege of studying Spanish art and architecture firsthand, as well as immersing herself in another language. Through the Williams Office of Special Academic Programs, Clare has been awarded the Mellon-Mays Undergraduate Research Fellowship, a two year research commitment which has, thus far, been focused on an independent investigation of the photographs of the Spanish Civil War. Clare's fascination with documentary photography centers on the triangular and often complicated relationship between subject, photographer, and viewer. She has been able to better examine and improve the position of the viewer in her capacity as Education intern and tour guide at the Williams College Museum of Art, where she has designed tours and conducted public programs for exhibits on Abraham Lincoln, the artists Sol Lewitt and Vik Muniz, American founding documents, and international documentary photography. Outside the classroom, Clare tours prospective students for the Admissions office and sings with the co-ed Ephlats, Williams' oldest a cappella group.

Internship Highlight

At the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Clare worked as the Contemporary intern alongside Pieranna Cavalchini, the Contemporary Curator, and Tiffany York, Contemporary Programs and Residency Manager. She completed a brief independent research project on the previously unexamined diary of Edward Sears, the architect of the Museum building, in time for an impressive Renzo Piano-designed building addition anticipated to open in early 2012. She then compiled digital photographs and wrote biographical and image information for all the artists' projects exhibited during the 18-year tenure of the Museum's Artist-in-Residence program, a modern development on Mrs. Gardner's commitment to patronage of artists and to fostering a vibrant, creative environment within the Museum's walls. She submitted the content to Tender Creative, the design team retained by the Museum to create a brand new website, set to be unveiled within the upcoming year.

Where are they now?

Clare is currently finishing her senior year at Williams College.