Copper King's art arrives at new home at University of Montana

"We're so lucky to have them in Montana — at the Montana Museum of Art & Culture," said Nancy Matthews, a member of the museum's advancement council.

Matthews helped lead the drive for the donation of the works from the collection of William A. Clark.

The pieces include paintings by Jean-Baptiste Corot, Jean Charles Cazin, Jules Dupré, Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Thomas Gainsborough, and a sculpture that is believed to be a Donatello.

Masterpieces from 'Copper King' headed to Montana Museum of Art and Culture

Clark, who made his fortune in Montana, collected art from around the world until his death in 1925.

Matthews said that whatever Clark's reputation, the pieces represent "a part of Montana history."

Much of Clark's collection ended up in the Corcoran Art Gallery in Washington, D.C., until financial problems led to its dissolution.

Matthews, a former D.C. resident who now lives in Missoula, used her experience with international exhibitions to help arrange the donation.

"As soon as I read that it was happening, I thought, 'We've got to get something of this collection in Montana where it belongs before someone else does.' So I started the wheels in motion immediately," she said.

The MMAC was one of the few institutions outside of D.C. that was able to arrange for a donation.

Matthews added that she hopes the pieces will help the MMAC in its long quest to have a permanent building of its own. Currently, the museum's collection of 11,000 pieces is held in storage and it shows work in two galleries in the PAR/TV Center.

While the works have just arrived, there will be a bit of wait to see them in person. The MMAC will exhibit them from Oct. 4 to June 15.