Joseph Clark was born on 4th of July 1834 at Cerne Abbas, Dorset. He was
the son of William Henry Clark, a draper and his wife Susanna (née
Shepherd). After the death of his father, his mother encouraged her son to
move to London to study at the Leigh’s Academy, (now Heatherley School of
Fine Art) which was set up by James Matthews Leigh in 1848. He later
continued his artistic education by enrolling at the Royal Academy School
and began specializing in genre scenes.
He was a lifelong member of the Swedenborgian New Church and was elected to the Institute of Oil Painters. Clark married Annie Jones in 1868, and they had four children. He died on his 92nd birthday in Ramsgate, Kent. His works, some titled in the Dorset dialect, reflect his deep connection to his roots and the influence of his early education.
