The Clark Art Institute is presenting “An Exquisite Eye: Introducing the Aso O. Tavitian Collection,” an exhibition featuring approximately 150 works from a major gift by the late Aso O. Tavitian. This collection, comprising 331 works of art including paintings, sculptures, drawings, and decorative arts from the 15th to 19th centuries, is considered one of the most significant private collections of European art formed in North America in the 21st century. The exhibition, on view from June 13, 2026, through February 21, 2027, provides the first public look at these pieces before they are permanently installed in a new wing.
Aso O. Tavitian, a Cold War refugee from Bulgaria who earned advanced degrees in nuclear engineering and physics, was a co-founder and CEO of the software company Syncsort (now Precisely). He served on the Clark's board from 2006 to 2012 and also on the board of the Frick Collection. His gift to the Clark Art Institute includes 132 paintings, 130 sculptures, 39 drawings, and 30 decorative arts objects, significantly enhancing the museum's holdings, particularly in early modern European art and more than doubling its sculpture collection. Notable artists in the collection include Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Jacques-Louis David, Jan van Eyck, Jacopo da Pontormo, Peter Paul Rubens, Elisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun, and Jean-Antoine Watteau.
In addition to the artworks, Tavitian's gift includes a donation of over $45 million. This funding will support the construction of a new wing, designed by architect Annabelle Selldorf, which will be named after Tavitian and is slated to open in 2028. The donation also endows a new curatorial position, currently held by Lara Yeager-Crasselt, who is the Tavitian-endowed curator of Early Modern European Painting and Sculpture. Esther Bell, the museum's director, highlights the transformative nature of the collection, noting its exceptional quality and the unique opportunity it provides for studying early modern European art. Some selections from Tavitian's broader collection were sold at Sotheby's last year for $21 million.
