Born in 1834 in
Cerne Abbas,
Dorset, from the age of eleven Clark was educated as a boarder by
William Barnes at his school in
Dorchester, and according to a study of the school "exploited Barnes's training perhaps more successfully than any other pupil". His parents brought Clark up as a member of the
Swedenborgian New Church, and he remained a member all his life. He was elected a Member of the
Institute of Oil Painters, Some of his paintings were named in the
Dorset dialect, "Jeanes Wedden Day in Mornen", which is also the title of a poem by Barnes, is an example of this. ==Notes==