A native of the American southwest, W. Clarence McGrath began life in Arizona, son of a sharecropper. To help support the family, he worked as a farm and ranch hand and as a sheepherder. In his spare time, he painted and sketched.

Encouraged by his family, and by hometown artists and druggist Hal Empie, McGrath received early recognition as well as the rudiments of his chosen profession. His high school art teacher, Shorty Clothier, and Glen West, his art instructor at Eastern Arizona Junior College, helped mold the young artist.

In the 1950's, McGrath realized that his art could support him and spent a year in Phoenix sketching portraits. He and his family moved to Southern California, where McGrath hoped to mak...