James P. Clark (American, 1923-2015), Renoir Girls

2002, assembled sawn wood elements with celadon painted finish, mounted on rectangular wood terrace, signed with title and date to side of terrace. Included in this lot is a laminated poster from Gallery 84 advertising one of the artist's shows of paintings and sculptures.

Approximately 33 x 30 x 12 1/2 in.

Born in Connecticut, Clark began his artistic journey at Hartford Art School and went on to attend the Rhode Island School of Design and Cranbrook Academy of Art. After receiving his MFA from Cranbrook in 1953, Clark set up a studio in New York City's West Village, consistently exhibiting his work through the 1950s and '60s. The poster from Gallery 84 included in this lot attests to Clark's prominent place in the city's modern art scene - 10th street in particular having been a hub for the second generation of Abstract Expressionists including Franz Kline and Willem de Kooning.

Working within the art colony of New York's AbEx artists, Clark produced numerous distinctive paintings before turning to sculpture. He initially created Art Brut forms using scrap wood he retrieved from the street but then transitioned to expressive human figures. Both his paintings and sculpture varied in size from modest to monumental.

Clark continued to produce work late into his life and showed in galleries throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and North Carolina - including the Center of the Earth Gallery in Charlotte. The May 14, 1995 edition of The New York Times notes his style, “Mr. Clark has developed an ingenious vocabulary for representing the figure… [his] best effort may be the bust… It is Brancusi with chic added.” Clark's sculpture was also featured in the action/drama film “Body Count” (1998).

Good estate condition; small chip to one blade of grass to base.