Hidden gem in the Berkshires

Although I have lived in and out of Massachusetts all of my life, I have never spent quality time in the western part of the state. While on a recent trip to the Berkshires I was astounded to come upon the Clark Museum. Situated in Williamstown, the museum is home to paintings by Renoir, Monet, Degas etc. I was delighted to find a couple of Winslow Homer paintings, as I am always partial to nostalgic Americana. I also was thrilled to find several Alma-Tadema paintings. Ever since I was a child, I loved his dreamy neo-classical style, with his langourous ladies clad in Greek-like robes. Wandering through the galleries, I found a most intense, almost mystical painting by John Singer Sargent, seen below, which absolutely mesmerized me. Entitled Fumée d'Ambre Gris (Smoke of Ambergris), it depicts an exotic appearing woman inhaling the smoke of a seawater resin that was believed to be an aphrodisiac.