The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts, has promoted Esther Bell, its deputy director and chief curator, to serve as the museum’s sixth director. She begins in the post on July 1.
Bell is the first woman to hold the role in the Clark’s 70-year history. She will succeed Olivier Meslay, who has been the director since 2016 and announced last year that he will move back to France in 2026.
Having joined the Clark in 2017, she was among Meslay’s early hires; she was elevated to the role of deputy director in 2022. But her relationship with the Clark dates back to 2001 when she studied in the graduate program of art history at Williams College, which is jointly administered at the Clark. (She now teaches courses in that department.)
“I first met Esther Bell in 2003 when she was pursuing a Fulbright Fellowship at the Musée du Louvre,” Meslay said in a statement. “I knew then that she was an exceptional art historian and I have watched her forge a brilliant career. I am delighted to know that the Clark’s next chapter will be entrusted to Esther’s exceedingly capable hands. She is a respected museum leader, an impressive scholar, and a passionate advocate for the arts.”
Bell’s appointment is the third announcement of a new museum director in the US this week at a time when several of these positions are open. Previously announced directorships include Alison Weaver at NYU’s Grey Art Museum and Lisa Funderburke at the Newark Museum of Art.
Since joining the Clark, Bell has worked on a number of high-profile exhibitions, including the first monographic show for Neoclassical artist Guillaume Lethière, which was co-organized with the Louvre in Paris. She also organized “Renoir: The Body, The Senses” (2019) and the inaugural iteration of “Ground/work” in 2020.
Bell has grown the Clark’s educational and public programs, launching the museum’s Division of Learning and Engagement in 2025. In 2020, she participated in a fellowship at the Center for Curatorial Leadership in New York.
Prior to joining the Clark, she was curator in charge of European paintings at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and curator of European paintings, drawings, and sculpture at the Cincinnati Art Museum in Ohio. She has also held positions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Morgan Library & Museum, both in New York.
“With the support of my esteemed colleagues, I look forward to being a part of an exciting future for the Clark as we dedicate ourselves to ensuring that the Institute will always be a welcoming place of contemplation, inspiration, and education for all,” Bell said in a statement. “As we continue to grow our campus and our collections, we recognize the significance of ensuring that we steward the Clark’s remarkable resources with care, consideration, and commitment to fulfill our mission of extending the public’s appreciation of art.”
