Born in Coshocton, Ohio, Benton Clark became an eastern illustrator of the West in the dramatic tradition of Frederic Remington and especially loved painting horses. He also did murals that are in Chicago and Columbus, Ohio.

Growing up in Coshocton, he had a picturesque rural setting of woods and valleys near the old Ohio Canal. A group of artists were working there, and one of them, Arthur Woelfle, gave Clark his first lessons and encouraged him to seek further training. Later Woelfle said that of all his students Clark was the most talented.

In 1913, he went to New York City to study at the National Academy of Design and in 1915 to Chicago at the Art Institute. He sold magazine cover and calendar illustrations and in 1925, ...