Fantin-Latour was so famous for his paintings of roses that they named a rose after him. Ignace Henri Theodore Fantin-Latour was born in 1836 and died in 1904. He is known for his flower paintings, but he also did many portraits. Though many of his friends were Impressionists, he held to a more conservative style.

Fantin-Latour, the rose, grows in my garden, not in  an ideal spot, but he endures and blooms beautifully in late June.

I saw the painting at the newly reopened and renovated Clark Institute of Art in Williamstown the other day. The approach to the new Clark Center with its broad Plaza and reflecting pools,designed by Tadeo Ando,  gently clear one’s mind for a focused view of the paintings and other works on display in the new building, and in the newly painted and reorganized gallery spaces in what is now known as The Museum.  The other small new thing that I noticed was the new guides that could be used while going through the different collections.  No clunky audio guide – now those who are interested can get a tablet with illustrations and text, and an earbud for extra explication.  I was very glad to see that visitors on  that summer day ran the gamut of ages.

Lots of friendly in-the-flesh Guides were also on hand to answer questions or help you when you got ‘deliriously lost’ in the new arrangement of galleries.