Alson Skinner Clark papers
name: label: Creator
content: Clark, Alson Skinner, 1876-1949
label: Names
content: Clark, Medora
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- California
label: Topic
content: Artists' studios -- Photographs
label: Topic
content: Landscape painting
label: Topic
content: Mural painting and decoration, American
label: Topic
content: Painting, American
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The 1897 diary, sales notebook, glass negatives, and albums of negatives were donated in 1986 by Joseph Moure, an art historian who purchased the material from occupants of Clark's former studio. The remainder was donated by Clark's son, Alson Clark, in 1989, 1991, 1992, and 1997 and by Clark's grandniece, Deborah Clark, in 2006.
creator: label: Creator
content: Clark, Alson Skinner, 1876-1949
setName: label: See more items in
content: Alson Skinner Clark papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of painter and muralist Alson Skinner Clark measure 7.2 linear feet and date from 1870 to 1971, with the bulk of the material from 1890 to 1940. Clark's career is documented through biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, galleries, and dealers; eleven diaries by the artist as well as 16 by his wife Medora Clark; stories and essays by Medora; financial records and business files of art and civilian concerns; assorted printed material including exhibition catalogs and announcements, maps, news clippings (singly and in scrapbooks), advertisements, and ephemera; and photographs of the artist, his friends and family, studio, travels, and artwork.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Alson Skinner Clark (1876-1949) was a painter and muralist who travelled and worked in Europe, Mexico, Canada, Panama, and the United States, ultimately settling in southern California.

Clark was born in Chicago, Illinois, and began training in 1891 at the age of 11 at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1896 he studied under William Merritt Chase at the Art Students' League of New York and briefly at the Chase School of Art before moving to Paris to train with James Abbott McNeill Whistler at the Academia Carmen in 1898. Alongside his wife, Medora (married 1902), Clark travelled extensively, painting the landscapes and urban activity of Chicago, New York, Quebec, France, Dalmatia, and Spain. 

In 1913, Clark journeyed to Panama to document the construction of the canal, and in 1919, after serving as a military photographer in World War I, he settled in Pasadena, California, where he adopted the landscapes and colonial architecture of Mexico and the American West as subjects en plein air. It was during this time that Clark began to take on work as a muralist, accepting commissions from the local bank and theatre while also embarking on a teaching career at Occidental College and eventually the Stickney Memorial School of Fine Arts, where he served as director.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 7.2 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1870-1971
label: Date
content: bulk 1890-1940
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.claralso
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Diaries
label: Type
content: Glass negatives
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 9 series. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and not served to researchers.

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1890-1958 (Box 1; 6 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1895-1962 (Boxes 1-2; 1.7 linear feet)

Series 3: Diaries, 1889-1922 (Boxes 2-4; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 4: Writings, circa 1900-1962 (Boxes 4-5; 0.9 linear feet)

Series 5: Personal Business Records, 1889-1930 (Boxes 5, 8; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1890-1971 (Boxes 5-6; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork, circa 1910-1920 (Box 6; 2 folders)

Series 8: Photographs, circa 1885-1935 (Boxes 6, 8, 9; 1.6 linear feet)

Series 9: Scrapbooks, 1902-1955 (Boxes 7, 8; 0.5 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared in 2015 by intern Kimberley Henze.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Diaries
label: Genre/Form
content: Glass negatives
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of painter and muralist Alson Skinner Clark measure 7.2 linear feet and date from 1870 to 1971, with the bulk of the material from 1890 to 1940. Clark's career is documented through biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, galleries, and dealers; eleven diaries by the artist as well as 16 by his wife Medora Clark; stories and essays by Medora; financial records and business files of art and civilian concerns; assorted printed material including exhibition catalogs and announcements, maps, news clippings (singly and in scrapbooks), advertisements, and ephemera; and photographs of the artist, his friends and family, studio, travels, and artwork.