Guillaume Lethière

Born in Sainte-Anne, Guadeloupe, Guillaume Lethière (1760–1832) was a key figure in French painting during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The son of a white plantation owner and an enslaved woman of mixed race, Lethière moved to France with his father at age fourteen and began studying drawing and painting. While establishing himself as a history painter, Lethière successfully navigated the tumult of the French Revolution and achieved the highest levels of recognition in his time. He served as director of the Académie de France in Rome, a member of the Institut de France, and as a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts. A well-respected teacher, he operated a successful studio that trained a number of artists, including young women and artists with connections to the Caribbean. Despite his remarkable accomplishments and considerable body of work, Lethière is not well known today and has never been the subject of a major exhibition.

The exhibition runs from June 15 – October 14, 2024 at the Clark Art Institute, 225 South St., Williamstown, MA 01267.

To learn more about this exhibition, please click here.  

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