Clark, Kenneth (1903-1983), was an outstanding British art historian and critic. He gained fame with such books as The Gothic Revival (1928, revised 1949), Leonardo da Vinci (1939), The Nude (1956), Rembrandt and the Italian Renaissance (1966), and Feminine Beauty (1981). He became internationally known with his television series, Civilization (1969).
Kenneth Mackenzie Clark was born on July 13, 1903, in London. He was educated at Winchester College and at Trinity College, Oxford University. He was keeper of the Department of Fine Art at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (1931-1933); director of the National Gallery in London (1934-1945); and Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford (1946-1950 and 1961-1962). He was also chairman of the Arts Council of Great Britain (1953-1960). Clark was made a life peer in 1969 as Lord Clark of Saltwood. He wrote an autobiography, Another Part of the Wood (1974). Clark died on May 21, 1983.
