The evenings he and Isabella hosted were as sophisticated as they were fun.”
He carefully curated these dinner parties, down to the seating arrangements. Each gathering was special, oftentimes with a guest speaker or a group of musicians performing. Tavitian was a good friend of cellist Yehuda Hanani, founder and artistic director of Close Encounters With Music in Great Barrington, a classical music series with commentary. He was introduced to Hanani at a friend’ s dinner party, where Hanani talked about the mission of Close Encounters With Music, which was then in the process of being formed.
With a passion for opera and classical music, Tavitian became a strong supporter of Close Encounters. Over the years, Hanani performed many intimate concerts in Tavitian’ s homes. He would choose a group of art pieces from Tavitian’ s collection in advance, do his research, and arrange the music. Hanani would sometimes ask a colleague at the Metropolitan Opera and a pianist to join him. Sometimes, there were narrators, such as Richard Chamberlain and Jane Alexander.
It felt like Renaissance Europe, where parties and social gatherings often featured music and art, says Hanani.“ Aso recreated a whole world that was, in his own sweet way, hard to find.”
A RETURN TO THE CLARK
In 2011, the Clark exhibited a collection of Tavitian’ s paintings in Eye to Eye, European Portraits, 1450 to 1850, drawn from his collection and curated by Morris and Richard Rand. At that time, Tavitian had been collecting for about a decade and agreed to have them borrow some of the artwork that lived in his homes. On opening day, he was thrilled to have these paintings on view and to talk to people about them the night of the opening event.
He called the Clark a“ hidden gem,” and it seems natural that he felt that it was the right place to house a significant portion of his collection.“ He wanted these to hang together because he feels that each piece informs the other, and he wanted people to have the benefit of the interaction,” says Candace Beinecke, president of The Tavitian Foundation.“ The Clark is a place where his collection will resonate.
This was his dream, his choice.”
The gifts from The Tavitian Foundation to the Clark are strong in the early era, from the 15th century to the 18th century( Renaissance, Baroque, and Rococo), with some great 19th century items, too. The Clark’ s existing collection has a very strong 19th century representation.
The portraiture acquired by the Clark includes important works by Parmigianino, Peter Paul Rubens, Elizabeth Vigée Lebrun, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Jacques-Louis David, and others. There are also landscapes by Hubert Robert and Claude-Joseph Vernet, as well as religious paintings by artists including Jan van Eyck and Agnolo Bronzino. Tavitian’ s gift also is rich in sculpture,
Eye to Eye, European Portraits, 1450 to 1850, at the Clark in 2011.
which will bolster the collection that the Clark now has. These works include bronze, plaster, terracotta, marble, and other materials dating from the Renaissance through the late 19th-century by artists including Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Andrea della Robbia, Gil de Siloé, Clodion( Claude Michel), and Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux.
“ It is changing entirely the sculpture collection of the Clark,” says Meslay.“ The Clark has 65 or so sculptures, which is a small amount. We are tripling our sculpture with one gift. With the Tavitian gift, we are changing everything. It’ s not only about changing the numbers, it’ s changing the quality when it comes to sculpture. A lot of them are masterpieces.”
A through-line in the list of pieces that the Clark obtained from Tavitian is their incredible provenance. One example is Houdon’ s bust Little Lise.“ It ' s signed and dated 1775, and it has a really incredible history, going back to the 18th century,” says the Clark’ s Esther Bell.“ One of the most famous art critics of the time wrote about seeing that sculpture, writing that he noticed something indescribable, something that could not be found in 100,000 faces. He’ s talking about that specific object.”
The curators are beginning to discuss the exhibition’ s hang and display so they tell the story of Tavitian as a collector. Although very early in the process, they’ re envisioning wonderful moments in the wing that reflect the visits in his homes where his collection was installed. To give a taste of what’ s to come, they also are discussing ways to display a selection of objects from the collection in advance of the opening.
PHILANTHROPY AND THE ARMENIAN PEOPLE
Tavitian’ s philanthropic work goes well beyond art. He concentrated his attention on a certain number of groups; he served on the boards of The Frick and the Clark, as well as Austen Riggs Center, Berkshire Theatre Festival, and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In addition to Close Encounters With Music and the Mahaiwe, he also contributed to other Berkshire nonprofits such as Jacob’ s Pillow, Tanglewood, Southern Berkshire Literacy Network, and Norman Rockwell Museum. He also was a generous benefactor of the Armenian Church.
The generosity that his high school English teacher showed him in Beirut remained with him through the end of his life. The impetus of forming The Tavitian Foundation in the mid-1990s was to help pay for education for students of Armenian heritage by bringing them to colleges and music schools to study. The foundation currently funds The Tavitian Scholars Program at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. The program provides a semester of education for mid-career Armenian government officials, with a goal of exposing them to innovative, global ways of thinking about foreign policy.
“ Aso was very much a humanist and very much an advocate of education, because that ' s how he defined himself, as a person who was well-educated and knew what was of value,” says Joyce Barsam, vice president of The Tavitian Foundation, who plays a critical role in The Tavitian Scholars Program.
Barsam’ s son, Ara, leads the recruitment
22 // BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE May / June 2025