A landscape painter strongly influenced by the French Impressionists, Alson Skinner Clark spent much of his career traveling and living in foreign countries and then settled in Southern California where he became a plein-aire painter, art educator and muralist. From there, he also traveled extensively in Mexico and the Southwest.

Alson Clark was born in Chicago to a prosperous family comfortably supported by the father's commodities business. He showed early art talent, which his family encouraged by enrolling him in evening classes at the Art Institute. They also took him on a two-year trip around the world where he gained much exposure to European art.

Graduating from high school, he agai...