Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 1 72 by BRIAN D'AMBROSIO A CARVER OF CRAG- GY ANIMALS, HIS STONY, WEATHER-BEAT- EN FACE PRACTICALLY SEEMED ENGRAVED, TOO. His lined hands, flowing with fluency, were hearty and coarse like oak or boulder, and no less substantial. He had been robbed of the ability to speak or hear, yet his was a life without margins. By way of nimble fingers and fixed eyes, he felt the urge of the senses, scrounging ordinary wood that he hewed and chipped deep- ly, lovingly, with the characteristics of his own spirit and that of his subject matters. The son of Horace and Margaret Clarke, John Clarke was born near Highwood, about 25 miles east of Great Falls, in 1881. When John was two-years-old, he was afflicted with deafness, most likely the result of a near fatal bout of scarlet fever. Despite this trauma, or because of it, Clarke developed strong artistic proclivities, fashioning clay animals that he would present as gifts to his relatives. The Clarke family eventually moved to the com- munity of Midvale, most likely in 1913, which later became East Glacier. Clarke's studio in East Glacier was a scene from the animal kingdom, from bears to horses, to buffalo and mountain goats. Soft, spongy cottonwood, though difficult to carve, was his favored medium of wood; its suppleness allowed Clarke to rough the fibers into realistically shaggy animal fur. He com- monly used heavy bark, cedar, walnut and maple, too. Not limited to carving, Clarke also addressed the world in crayon and painted in oil. Clarke was considered a great sculptor because of his aforementioned keen perception of wildlife, his long hours of observation of the animals in their true habitat, his superior anatomical precision, and his meticulous practice in depicting them in their natural poses. "His figures are correct to the finest detail and his work, like that of western artists, is a definite contribution to posterity," trumpeted the Great Falls Tribune in 1932. Indeed, President Warren G. Harding owned an ea- gle holding an American flag carved by Clarke, which was displayed in the White House. Business magnate John D. Rockefeller purchased four of his carvings in 1924 alone. A visit from Charles M. Russell to Clarke's studio was an annual summer occurrence for many years, until ill health made it impossible for the presti- gious landscape and bronze artist to visit. According to a newsletter published by the Montana School for the Deaf and the Blind in 1927, Rus- sell's arrival "gave the deaf mute new vision, for there was always friendly, helpful criticisms," while courage was "born anew" in Clarke's heart "for Russell never overlooked good points nor forgot to mention them." It's difficult to say how many pieces he complet- ed in his lifetime and how many of them have en- dured. It has been written that Clarke's works number in the thousands, but no official tally or log has even been conducted. Working up until his death, Clarke's final months were punctuated by moments of extreme physical discomfort: almost blind, his eyes were so clouded with cataracts that he was unable to discern much beyond indistinct silhouettes. His final known production—a carving of a large grizzly springing itself out of a bear trap—was car- ried out with the primal touch of awareness and harmony. While his studio was de- molished years ago, his work lived on at the John L. Clarke Western Art Gallery & Me- morial Museum, established in 1977 in East Glacier, where his art continues to articulate the essence of his voice. THREE GREAT MONTANA WESTERN ARTISTS TO KNOW Not Just C.M. Russell JOHN LOUIS CLARKE (1881-1970)

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