People Clark, Kenneth R.

Kenneth Clark

Kenneth Mackenzie Clark, Baron Clark OM CH KCB FBA (13 July 1903 – 21 May 1983) was a British art historian, museum director, and broadcaster. After running two important art galleries in the 1930s and 1940s, he came to wider public notice on television, presenting a succession of programmes on the arts during the 1950s and 1960s, culminating in the Civilisation series in 1969. The son of rich parents, Clark was introduced to the arts at an early age. Among his early influences were the writings of John Ruskin, which instilled in him the belief that everyone should have access to great art. After coming under the influence of the connoisseur and dealer Bernard Berenson, Clark was appointed director of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford aged twenty-seven, and three years later he was put in charge of Britain's National Gallery. His twelve years there saw the gallery transformed to make it accessible and inviting to a wider public. During the Second World War, when the collection was moved from London for safe keeping, Clark made the building available for a series of daily concerts which proved a celebrated morale booster during the Blitz. Read more at Wikipedia...

Born: 1903, London
Died: 1983, Hythe

Alternate Names: Baron Clark, Kenneth Clark Lord Clark of Saltwood, Kenneth MacKenzie, Lord Clark of Saltwood Clark, Kenneth
Occupation(s): art historian, historian, university teacher, writer, television presenter, curator, museum director, politician
Employer(s): University of Oxford

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