Stephen Carlton Clark
Encyclopedia
Stephen Carlton Clark, Sr. DSM
, (August 29, 1882 – September 17, 1960) was an American
art
collector, newspaper publisher, benefactor and founder of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York
.
and grandson of Edward Clark
, who was a founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company
.
Stephen Clark graduated from Yale
with a Bachelor of Arts
degree in 1903 and was awarded in 1957 an honorary degree of Doctor of Human Letters. and became a director of the Singer Manufacturing Company. He founded the Clark Foundation to further his philanthropies.
In 1922 he received a Distinguished Service Medal for his service in World War I
as a lieutenant-colonel.
In 1909, Stephen Clark and his brother, Edward Severin Clark
, built the Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown, New York
.http://www.otesaga.com/WhatsNew/2_94th.htm
He was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Modern Art
from 1939 to 1946, and was a director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
. He previously had been elected to the New York State Assembly in 1910. During his lifetime he served on numerous corporate boards.
Stephen was survived by his wife, Susan Vanderpoel Clark (née Hun), sons Stephen C. Clark, Jr. and Alfred Clark.
The Stephen Clark Fund, established in 1960 with a bequest from his estate, supports scholarships and stipends given at the discretion of International House
.
In May 2009 a lawsuit arose with a claim in reference to one work donated by Stephen to Yale University - Vincent van Gogh
's "The Night Café" from 1888.
Pierre Konowaloff, heir to his great-grandfather's estate (Ivan Morozov) alleged in a suit that "The Night Café" was taken by the Soviet government in 1920. It was acquired by Clark in 1933 and donated in 1960.
Konowaloff's counterclaim suit against Yale argued that Yale should have questioned the propriety of Clark's purchase, and that the court cannot deem the university to be the painting's rightful owner. "Stephen C. Clark either had actual knowledge, or reasonably should have known, that Russia had no legal title to the painting when he sought to acquire it in 1933."
Distinguished Service Medal (United States)
The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United...
, (August 29, 1882 – September 17, 1960) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
art
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
collector, newspaper publisher, benefactor and founder of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...
.
Biography
He was the son of Alfred Corning ClarkAlfred Corning Clark
-Biography:He was born on November 14, 1844 to Edward Clark, a founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. He married and had as his children: Edward Severin Clark, Robert Sterling Clark, Frederick Ambrose Clark and Stephen Carlton Clark, Sr....
and grandson of Edward Clark
Edward Clark (manufacturer)
Edward C. Clark or Edward S. Clark was a founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, along with his business partner of Isaac Merritt Singer...
, who was a founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company
Singer Corporation
Singer Corporation is a manufacturer of sewing machines, first established as I.M. Singer & Co. in 1851 by Isaac Merritt Singer with New York lawyer Edward Clark. Best known for its sewing machines, it was renamed Singer Manufacturing Company in 1865, then The Singer Company in 1963. It is...
.
Stephen Clark graduated from Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1903 and was awarded in 1957 an honorary degree of Doctor of Human Letters. and became a director of the Singer Manufacturing Company. He founded the Clark Foundation to further his philanthropies.
In 1922 he received a Distinguished Service Medal for his service in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as a lieutenant-colonel.
In 1909, Stephen Clark and his brother, Edward Severin Clark
Edward Severin Clark
Edward Severin Clark , along with his brother Stephen Carlton Clark, built a number of large buildings in Cooperstown, New York, including the Otesaga Hotel and the Alfred Corning Clark Gymnasium. He was one of four grandsons of Edward Clark, one of the founders of the Singer Sewing Machine...
, built the Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...
.http://www.otesaga.com/WhatsNew/2_94th.htm
He was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
from 1939 to 1946, and was a director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
. He previously had been elected to the New York State Assembly in 1910. During his lifetime he served on numerous corporate boards.
Stephen was survived by his wife, Susan Vanderpoel Clark (née Hun), sons Stephen C. Clark, Jr. and Alfred Clark.
The Stephen Clark Fund, established in 1960 with a bequest from his estate, supports scholarships and stipends given at the discretion of International House
International House
International House is the name of:in Australia*International House, University of Queensland, a residential college on the campus of the University of Queensland...
.
Art Collection and donations
Upon his death his will distributed many significant works of art of many museums. Yale, for example, received forty such paintings.In May 2009 a lawsuit arose with a claim in reference to one work donated by Stephen to Yale University - Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
's "The Night Café" from 1888.
Pierre Konowaloff, heir to his great-grandfather's estate (Ivan Morozov) alleged in a suit that "The Night Café" was taken by the Soviet government in 1920. It was acquired by Clark in 1933 and donated in 1960.
Konowaloff's counterclaim suit against Yale argued that Yale should have questioned the propriety of Clark's purchase, and that the court cannot deem the university to be the painting's rightful owner. "Stephen C. Clark either had actual knowledge, or reasonably should have known, that Russia had no legal title to the painting when he sought to acquire it in 1933."