William Albert Clark (1880-1963)

As the Son of Albert Clark and Grandson James Clark, William Albert Clark comes from a background of acclaimed animal artists. Although William was actually registered as ‘Albert William’, he was formerly known by his middle name to avoid confusion with his father.

Learning from his predecessors, William Clark specialised in the painting of horses and sometimes painted them with their riders or with their carriage and driver. Similarly, he would often create portraits of prize cattle and dogs.

In a similar way to James Clark – William’s Grandad – dedicating “The Runaway Horse” to his son Albert, Albert Clark attributed a recreation of the same painting to William Albert Clark under the new title ‘Breaking Loose’.

To obtain commissions for his work, William Albert Clark was often required to travel and he stated on his card “Gentlemen waited upon in any part of the country”. To try and gain more work under the impression that William Clark was a member of the Royal Agricultural Society, aside his usual signature of W. A. Clark, William would often add the letters RAS.

Some of the pieces within William Albert Clark’s collection include ‘Prize Jersey Cow’, ‘Springer Spaniel with a Snipe’ and ‘Lunsdale Banker’.