b'Ed ClarkBorn in New Orleans, Louisiana, Ed Clark (19262019) studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1947 to 1951 and at the Acadmie de la Grande Chaumiere, Paris, in 195253. In Paris he met a group of American expatriate intellectuals, including the painters Joan Mitchell, Sam Francis, and Beauford Delaney and the writer James Baldwin. He also saw the work of Nicolas de Stal, who would be an important inspiration. Clark came to Paris on the GI Bill, the benefits program for American soldiers returning from World War II. He talked about the liberating feeling of the city, finding it less segregated and racist than the United States and quickly becoming recognized as an artist there. He adopted a technique of laying the canvas on the floor and painting with a broom, pushing the paint in great sweeps. Ded-icated to innovation, he experimented with dry pigment on paper, exploring the materiality of paint. He is also credited as the first American painter to exhibit a shaped canvas.In 1957, Clark settled in New York, becoming part of the New York School, while often returning to Paris. Although he was able to support him-self as an artist, it was only shortly after his death, in 2019, that he received international recognition.Blue Splash, 1967Acrylic on canvas60 147114.5 cm'