The life and work of Alson Skinner Clark (California)

Alson Skinner Clark (1876–1949) was born in Chicago, and attended The Art Institute of Chicago. In 1896 he moved to New York City to study with William Merritt Chase at the Art Students League and subsequently enrolled in Chase's new school, The Chase School of Art. Chase's instruction—his love of painting en plein air, and his freedom in the handling of paint—had a profound influence on the young artist.; In the fall of 1898, Clark attended James Abbott McNeill Whistler's school in Paris, the Académie Carmen. Although he remained for only a brief period, Clark's admiration and emulation of Whistler's aesthetic was enduring. Ill health forced Clark's return to America in 1901. While recuperating he met and married Atta Medora McMullin, and by 1902 the couple settled in Paris. The Clarks traveled within Europe during the first decade of the century—through France, Italy, Spain, and Dalmatia, and they spent a portion of 1906 in Quebec.; In 1913 the couple visited the Panama Canal Zone—the first of two trips—where he painted the construction of the Panama Canal: eighteen paintings were exhibited at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. When the United States entered World War I, Clark, who had returned to America in 1914, enlisted in the Navy and was assigned to France as an aerial photographer.; His stint in the military resulted in an ear ailment, forcing him to seek out a mild climate. In 1919 the couple visited California, and subsequently relocated to Pasadena the following year. He became an instructor, and eventually director, of the newly formed Stickney Memorial School of Art. The landscape of California and Mexico offered constant inspiration, and Clark maintained a prodigious travel schedule.; By the mid-1920s Clark was commissioned to paint several major public mural projects in Southern California, yet he continued, when possible, to paint the state's deserts, mountains, beaches, and historic missions. Although Clark's primary association has, until now, been to California, an investigation of his life and career confirms his position as a significant proponent of American Impressionism throughout this country and abroad.