2025 Theses Doctoral

Behind White Walls: The Journey of Abstract Expressionist Ed Clark

Moore, Charles

Although Ed Clark’s (1926-2019) innovative techniques and use of materials should assert him as one of the most important abstract painters of the 21st century, major American art museums have significantly overlooked Clark’s career relative to his contemporary White Abstract Expressionist artists. This omission is noticeable, not only because of Clark’s many accomplishments but also because of a stated intention of art museums to represent the diversity of their audiences. While museums have slowly begun to showcase Clark’s work, this delayed recognition in coming decades after his busiest period in the 1960s and 1990s demands further interrogation to understand the specific nature of the racial barriers Clark experienced during the course of his career.

Through archival research and nine oral history interviews, I sought in this qualitative study to understand Clark better as a person and artist in order to contextualize the role that Clark’s race played in articulating the shape of his professional trajectory. Research questions asked what do archival data, coupled with interviews with those who knew him and his work best, reveal about the role of race in Ed Clark’s career as well as how the systemic issues affecting the art world during Clark’s most productive years (1960s to 1990s) delayed his entry in the 21st century art canon.

I present my findings through what I call “The Story of Ed,” a narrative that weaves excerpts from the interviews, historical research, and literature from the fields of critical race theory, post-WWII Paris, and art market trends to explore several key themes that surfaced in the data analysis, including Clark’s drive to innovate, the importance of his New York network, his mentorship to other artists, the influence of place on his work, and racial barriers that worked against him (namely imposed expectations on the nature of his work and false “opportunities” posed by exhibiting in group shows exclusively for Black artists).

Further analysis of these themes alongside additional literature from Afro-Pessimism and innovations in abstract painting underscore Clark’s unique and notable contributions, not just to Abstract Expressionism but to our collective understanding of the Black artists’ experience of trying to achieve a career in the arts and the specific challenges they face. Specifically, Clark’s professional and artistic choices—such as choosing not to participate in Black group shows, to travel the world seeking inspiration, to paint with a push broom, to shape his canvases, to invest in his community—demonstrated his drive to create on his own terms and serve as a model for other artists who struggle to balance honoring their artistic voice with being responsive to the market’s desires.