The Clark Art Institute has appointed Esther Bell, who earned her master’s degree from the College’s Graduate Program in the History of Art in 2003, as its next Hardymon Director, the museum’s foremost leadership position. Bell, the institute’s current Deputy Director and Chief Curator, will assume the new role on July 1.
Bell will succeed Olivier Meslay, who announced last year that he would be returning to France, his native country, after over a decade at the Clark.
Bell traces her love of art history back to her first semester as an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, where she took an introductory art history course. She was fascinated by the idea that art can reflect patterns in society.
“I was totally hooked,” Bell said in an interview with the Record. “Art objects shine light on shared human experience. There’s something very grounding about understanding your place in a continuum of history.”
After Bell earned her master’s degree from the College, she was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to conduct research at the Louvre in Paris. Afterward, she received her doctorate in the history of art from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University.
Before returning to the Clark in 2017, Bell built her career at several major museums in New York City, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Morgan Library & Museum. She later held curatorial and research positions at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Cincinnati Art Museum.
Bell’s recent appointment, however, is especially meaningful for her, she said. As a graduate student at the College, her first museum job was an internship in the print, drawings, and photographs department at the Clark. For the first time, she said, she was given real responsibility and treated with a high level of respect, even as a young scholar.
“I truly believe it’s one of the great art history programs in this country,” Bell said. “It’s an incredible opportunity to really familiarize yourself with art historians from all over the world, from different disciplines, and it’s a very supportive environment. That was my experience, and I certainly believe that’s still the case today. It’s a magical program.”
Since 2017, Bell has curated and co-curated several major exhibitions at the Clark, including Renoir: The Body, The Senses in 2019, Promenades on Paper from 2022-23, and Guillaume Lethière in 2024.
Most recently, Bell oversaw the curation of An Exquisite Eye: Introducing the Aso O. Tavitian Collection, a gift from the Aso O. Tavitian estate. The exhibition will open in June, presenting nearly 150 Renaissance and early modern works that will be added to the Clark’s permanent collection. To house the new collection, the Clark is adding a new wing of the museum designed by architect Annabelle Selldorf.
Bell’s work at the Clark has extended beyond exhibitions. She regularly teaches courses for the College’s Graduate Program in the History of Art. In 2025, she led a major expansion of the Clark’s education and public programming initiatives, a key step to establishing the Clark’s Division of Learning and Engagement.
In Bell’s eyes, the Clark’s commitment to both nature and community is what makes it special. The Clark has a 140-acre campus with trails for guests to explore. “We have the indoors, the outdoors, the research,” Bell said. “It’s really a unique institution.”
As she steps into the director role, Bell says she remains guided by the generosity and community she experienced as a student at the Clark.
“I really learned the power of mentorship,” Bell said. “It’s something that makes the graduate program really special. The students are all placed in internships, whether in museums or working in a more research capacity. And I learned from that moment how important it is to be generous to not only your colleagues, but to the next generation.”
Bell credits several Clark educators and leaders who shaped her development in the field, including Michael Conforti, a former director of the Clark. Conforti, who has known Bell since she was a student in one of his seminars at the College’s graduate art program, praised her appointment. “She has continued to be an outstanding scholar as well as an able administrator at the Clark,” Conforti wrote in an email to the Record. “The Institute is very lucky that she has agreed to be its next director. The Clark is in very good hands.”
One of Bell’s biggest priorities is to make the Clark feel like a second home to the College’s students, Berkshire County residents, and visitors from around the world.
“You don’t have to be an art history major to come to the Clark,” Bell said. “If you just want a different place to study, if you want a different dining option than Spring Street, if you want a nice walk in the forest on our trails, there are so many things that we can offer you. It’s [free for Williams students], and it’s just down the street. We want you to be here, we really welcome you.”
