Elevate Your Spirits in New England’s “ArtCountry”

Sponsored by The Porches Inn at MASS MoCA In his inimitable impressionistic style, Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted winsome women, café scenes, landscapes, and…onions. Visit the Clark Art Institute and you’ll see his take on the humble vegetable hanging beside other masterpieces. Oddly enough, this still life was one of impassioned Renoir collector Sterling Clark’s favorites. It takes skill and devotion to coax forth the radiance lurking beneath an onion’s crackly skin.

With the same knack for making magic out of the mundane, contemporary artists and creative entrepreneurs have transformed post-industrial North Adams, Massachusetts, and neighboring northern Berkshires small towns into “ArtCountry,” a sought-after destination for recharging body and soul. Alluring to even more of the senses than California’s Wine Country, this region known for four powerhouse art museums—all included in your $40 ArtCountry combo ticket—has the forces of nature to thank for hanging the most precious works on display. Graceful mountains, half-a-billion-year-old white marble bedrock, a powerful river, lily-topped ponds—even ardent art lovers are torn between spending time indoors and out. You’d might as well get comfortable with this dilemma because when you book the ArtCountry package at The Porches Inn at MASS MoCA, you’ll be beckoned outside by this pastel-painted inn’s lovely grounds and by rocking chairs stationed on sprawling front porches, but equally tempted to stay glued to your luxuriously engineered, pressure-relieving mattress… enjoying the coffee and homey breakfast treats you can have delivered to your door. Resist the urge to sleep late, though. When you stay at this one-of-a-kind historic property, where retro furniture and vintage accents “camouflage” what is actually a thoroughly modern, tech-equipped, boutique hotel, you’re ideally situated to begin peeling away the layers of this diverse place and shedding any stress that inhibits your optimal wellbeing.

Just steps from the inn stands MASS MoCA, ArtCountry’s most monumental reinvention. A year ago, the opening of Building 6 within this complex of 19th-century factory buildings doubled the attraction’s size, making it once again the largest contemporary art museum in North America. You’ll be startled and fascinated by the sheer scale of the installations that are possible within these brick structures’ enormous halls.

MASS MoCA owns no permanent collection, but it has established long-term partnerships with avant-garde superstars like Laurie Anderson, who routinely creates virtual reality worlds and other new experiences within her experimental realm. Even seemingly static works, like Sol LeWitt’s enormous, geometric wall drawings, beg for interaction. These bold backdrops are an Instagram fan’s paradise. Some evocative creations, such as two of James Turrell’s nine Into the Lightenvironments, are so popular that reservations are required. MASS MoCA’s busy calendar of concerts and performances, along with unveilings of new work, keep this 19-year-old institution always feeling like a start-up. Just in time for hot summer days, Taryn Simon’s expansive Assembled Audience + A Cold Holeinstallation gives visitors the chance to immerse themselves in frigid water…or watch others take the plunge. Perhaps your senses don’t require a jolt quite that extreme. The beauty of waking in ArtCountry is that you’re a short drive from just the sort of inspiration that speaks to your individual spirit. The region’s museum partners have a blockbuster summer line-up planned. Contemplate art’s role in creating arbitrary distinctions between humans and animals when you view the RAWR!exhibition at the Williams College Museum of Art. Head just across the Vermont line to the Bennington Museum, where folk art masterworks by Grandma Moses displayed in a new gallery will remind you creativity has no upper age limit. Visit The Clark, where the enchanting permanent collection is augmented by this summer’s big show, Women Artists in Paris, 1850–1900, showcasing nearly 70 remarkable works by painters who defied art’s gender barrier.

It’s a best-kept secret that The Clark’s 140-acre “backyard” is laced with walking trails open free to the public. Hike up Stone Hill for bird’s-eye views. Natural Bridge State Park in North Adams is a bit off the radar, too, but the marble walls and arch at this abandoned quarry are as photogenic as LeWitt’s optical illusions. You’ll see even more impressive scenes if you set out on two wheels. Rent a hybrid bike at Berkshire Outfitters and you’re just 300 yards away from the paved Ashuwillticook Rail Trail which runs 11.2 easy-to-cycle miles along the Hoosic River and gently rippling Cheshire Reservoir.

The ultimate cycling challenge is the ride to the top of Massachusetts’ tallest mountain. Mount Greylock looms large in the local landscape and lore. From his desk, Herman Melville could see its hulking shape, covered in snow, as he wrote of the monstrous white whale in Moby-Dick. And J.K. Rowling tells us there’s a school of wizardry—America’s own Hogwarts—atop this tree-carpeted peak. The famed Appalachian Trail climbs up and over Greylock, so hiking to the summit is an option, too. Or save your energy and drive to this high point for dinner at Bascom Lodge with an unmatched view.There is artistry in this mountaintop structure, built stone-by-stone in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, and in the meals plated by imaginative chef John Dudek. By now, you’re accustomed to seeing art everywhere. It graces the walls of even Bright Ideas Brewing, a craft beer destination just outside MASS MoCA’s doors. And restaurants like PUBLIC Eat+Drink are just one of many hot spots catapulting North Adams from ghost town to thriving hub. Go ahead and order another locally crafted favorite from PUBLIC’s on-tap menu—maybe a “Wolf at the Door” made with New England apples by Massachusetts’ own Artifact Cider Project. Downtown restaurants are less than a 10-minute walk from “home” when you stay at The Porches Inn.

This whimsical B&B has its own makeover story. Victorian row houses where mill workers once lived have been architecturally refashioned to create this colorfully chic place to dream. At night, the inn’s all-hours hot tub provides more than steamy relief for tired muscles and minds. It’s the best seat for viewing the largest canvas of all—the awe-inspiring, star-painted sky.