Description
Foster Gnome by Tom Clark in good condition. Please note these gnomes have been displayed and handled so they may show signs of wear. Please keep this in mind when considering purchase. It measures 8.75″ high x 7.75″ x 6 5/8″. COA Included
TOM CLARK
was born October 19, 1928 in the small town of Elizabethtown, North Carolina. He received a B.A. from Davidson College, a B.D. from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, and his Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. In 1989 he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Davidson College (an honor bestowed on his father 40 years earlier!). Dr. Clark was an Associate Professor of Religion at Davidson College for over 25 years, teaching courses in theology and religious art.
Dr. Clark has attended art schools around the globe,most notably: Richmond Polytechnical Institute; Roberts School of Art in Aberdeen, Scotland; San Michel de Allende in Mexico; Boston Museum of Fine Arts School of Art; and the London City and Guilds School of Art.
In 1978 Dr. Clark sculpted a small gnome for his own amusement, inspired by the cover art on the popular book “Gnomes, illustrated by the late Rien Poortvliet. Using his keen imagination, he began sculpting other small forest-dwellers, and celebrated their life of harmony with the natural world by naming them “Woodspirits”.
Dr. Thomas F. Clark is the lead artist for Cairn Studio, LTD. Dr. Clark, the most well-known sculptor in America today, is the most prolific and talented sculptor in the figurine industry, with collectors in every county of every state, plus Europe, Asia (especially Japan!) and Canada. Dr. Clark will soon be featured along with Elizabeth Dole, the Reverend Billy Graham, Andy Griffith and others in a very special book saluting the 50 most influential North Carolinians.
Recently, Dr.Clark was commissioned to create a bronze bust of Bill Russell which was presented to him at a special tribute hosted by Bill Cosby, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Mathis and many others. Twenty years ago Giftware News, one of the most prestigious publications in the gift industry, pronounced Tom Clark “already bigger than Norman Rockwell – an “american treasure”.
Tom Clark is best known for his whimsical Gnomes and Woodspirits, but equally impressive are his scaled miniatures of historical people, such as Thomas Jefferson and Davy Crockett.
Over the past 40 years Dr. Clark has specialized in the creation of large portrait busts, and to date he has completed over a hundred of these types of artworks including the magnificent bronze sculptures: King David, Lincoln in Thought, Beethoven and Bill Russell.