Author, Teacher Michael Clark Passes Away

Dr. Michael Clark, long time devoted Arts & Crafts collector, researcher, speaker and author, passed away on Sunday, January 1st.

Michael and his wife, Jill Thomas-Clark, were among the first to recognize the importance of such Arts & Crafts firms as J.M. Young, Harden Furniture, Majestic Furniture, the W. B. Brown Chandelier Company, and Plail Brothers. They shared their research with Arts & Crafts collectors through their books, numerous articles in Style 1900 and with several appearances at the annual Grove Park Inn Arts & Crafts Conference in Asheville, where they led walking tours and discussion groups, and presented seminars on Arts & Crafts furniture, glassware and lighting.

Michael dedicated his entire life to teaching, from his days as a speech and theatre instructor at the University of Mississippi to his role as Associate Professor of Speech, Communications and Theatre at Elmira College in Elmira, NY, where he had taught since 1984. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in 1986 in Theatre History, Theory and Criticism.

Among the books which Michael and Jill have written are Stickley Brothers: The Quest For An American Voice, J.M. Young Arts and Crafts Furniture, and the introduction to The Indian Splint Manufacturing Company 1909-1911 Catalogs.

Michael recently wrote, "It is optimism that rules your outlook on life. Outside of the classroom Jill and I have found another passion in the Arts and Crafts movement, which looks upon life as 'the life that is art,' but it is hard to achieve without work and optimism. Being from the South, I would leave you with one quote from the Mississippi novelist William Faulkner that reflects that struggle. 'I decline to accept the end of man. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal.' "

While Michael's unflagging optimism will be missed by those of us who had the pleasure to both know and to work alongside him, his life's passion will also prevail through the words he wrote, the photographs he took, the talks he presented, and the opinions he voiced on his favorite subject -- the Arts & Crafts movement.

- Bruce

Note: please check back for additional information as it becomes available this week.