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Ad Code: 4
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from Auction House Records.
Village on the River
Artwork images are copyright of the artist or assignee
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Biography from AskART:
| The following, submitted August 2005, is from Suzanne Kaminski. In 1990, she purchased a painting by the artist titled "An Old Farm-Western New York", signed G.M. Clark '91. This biography was on the back of the framed painting.
George Merritt Clark was born in Buffalo, New York on June 12, 1853, the son of a wealthy Buffalo businessman. Although details of his early life have, as yet, not come to light, Clark appears to have studied painting at the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy (now part of the AlbrightKnox Gallery) and possibly with Lars Sellstadt.
In 1873, Clark made the first of several trips to Europe, where he sketched and painted in France, Germany, Switzerland, Scotland and England. He remained in England for seven years, studying watercolor techniques and gathering sketches of the rural English countryside, which would provide him material for much of his career.
By l880, he had returned to the U.S. From 1881-1886, Clark exhibited regularly at the National Academy of Design, the Brooklyn Art Association, and the American Watercolor Society, while maintaining a home in Tarrytown, N.Y.
In 1887, Clark had returned to Buffalo, where he became a central and colorful figure in Buffalo's artistic and social circles. He was a founder and life-long member of the Bohemian Sketch Club, and was instrumental in founding the Buffalo Society of Artists in 1891, and often organized exhibitions for the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy. He often took his houseboat "Bohemia", which was moored at the root of West Ferry Street on the Niagara River, on extended cruises along the Erie Canal and the Hudson River, and in 1898 was living for a brief tine aboard the houseboat in Hoboken, New Jersey.
In 1901, Clark opened a now studio in Buffalo on Franklin Street, which he soon turned into a small avant-garde restaurant as well. This was visited by many dignitaries who were in Buffalo for the Pan-American exposition.
In 1903, Clark traveled to California, where he had hoped to find a cure for his terminal illness of consumption. He settled in Bostonia, a rural area that is now part of down-town San Diego, where he died on March 20 1904.
During his lifetime, George Merritt Clark was known primarily for his lovely, delicate and sensitive watercolors. He became a master at rendering the old English thatchedroof cottages and buildings, interiors of peasants' homes and small areas of the landscape along the Erie Canal and Mohawk Rivers. Despite his preference for pure watercolors, Clark often painted larger works in oils. In these works, however, his palette changes to brighter, crisper colors and his compositions become denser and sore intricate.
In the years following his death, Clark's work and reputation passed into nearly total obscurity. His work has endured among the many private collections, especially in the Buffalo area, where it has been handed down from generation to generation, loved for the authentic rendering and precise draftsmanship depicting a by-gone era.
Listed: Benezit; Am. Art Annual; NAD
Signed as G.M. Clark 1891/ Titled: "An Old Farm Western New York" |
| ** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at registrar@AskART.com. |
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