Life and Legacy: Portraits from the Clowes Collection

Life and Legacy: Portraits from the Clowes Collection spotlights the fascinating life and art collection of one of the IMA’s greatest benefactors, Dr. George H. A. Clowes (1877–1958). While Clowes was renowned for his role in the mass production of insulin at Eli Lilly & Company, he was also an avid art collector. His collection encompassed works of art from all over Europe and across five centuries, ranging from fourteenth-century Italy to eighteenth-century England. Portraits comprise the largest part of Dr. Clowes’ collection. The Life and Legacy exhibition at Newfields examines the many portraits and artist self-portraits that Clowes collected over his lifetime, offering a fresh look at his interesting life story, his important art collection, and the development of portraiture over the span of several hundred years. The preservation, study presentation, and interpretation of works in the Clowes Collection is supported by the Clowes Fund and the Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation.