Editors' Foreword

This digital publication, the first of its kind at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, documents paintings in the Clowes Collection, a collection assembled by Dr. George Henry Alexander Clowes (1877–1958), in cooperation with his wife, Edith Whitehill Clowes (1885–1967). Research on masterpieces from the Clowes Collection has been ongoing since they arrived on long-term loan to the museum in 1971. A printed catalogue was issued in 1973, but in 2016 it was decided to issue a digital catalogue so that research could be made available to a much broader audience in a new format that meets the tenor of our times.

Art historians from around the world, several of whom served as Allen Whitehill Clowes Fellows at the Indianapolis Museum of Art early in their careers, were invited to contribute entries on paintings in the Clowes Collection. Each painting was also thoroughly examined with state-of-the-art technical equipment by conservators and scientists at Newfields, then documented in detailed reports available here. The information published in this catalogue therefore combines the latest discoveries made by art historians, conservators, and scientists about paintings in the Clowes Collection.

Masterpieces from the Clowes Collection: Paintings is generously supported by the Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation to whom we are extremely grateful for their unwavering commitment to the merits of this project. Funding from The Clowes Fund over many years has also been invaluable to this catalogue’s creation. We are also indebted to the many Newfields staff members, across many departments, who assisted in building the framework for this catalogue in significant ways. Our momentum, severely challenged due to a global pandemic, nevertheless remained steadfast, and we are now pleased to share the wealth of information published here with audiences in Indianapolis and beyond.

Dylan Remeš Jensen

Annette Schlagenhauff