John Thompson Clark
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JOHN THOMPSON CLARK
| JOHN CLARK | |
| BORN | John Thompson on 18 June 1871 in Bedale, North Yorkshire, England |
| DIED | 18 April 1918 (age 47) in Montreal, Canada |
| OTHER NAME | Professor Clark |
| OCCUPATION | Tattoo Artist |
| SPOUSES | Florence Kelly 1900-1900
Bertha Ritchie (aka Princess Beatrice) 1904-1918 |
John T. Clark, also known as Professor Clark, was born John Thompson in Bedale, England in 1871. His tattoo career spanned 1900 to 1918 and he spent most of that time in South Africa. Clark claimed to be the first professional tattoo artist in Johannesburg. Clark, along with his wife, Princess Beatrice, became a tattoo attraction.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND CAREER INFORMATION
Clark left England with his father and older brother in 1884 to settle in Galveston, Texas. After his arrival in the United States, he changed his surname from Thompson to Clark. In 1899, Clark enlisted in the Spanish-American War and in 1900 traveled to South Africa on a livestock transport ship to fight in a British volunteer regiment in the 2nd Anglo-Boer War. His first wife and stepdaughters perished in the Galveston Storm of 1900 while he was away.
After his discharge from Kitchener’s Horse, Clark returned to England to seek treatment for a tropical disease he contracted during the Boer War. He returned to South Africa to reenlist but was rejected due to his illness. In 1903 he traveled to Galveston and married Bertha Ritchie a year later. The couple relocated to South Africa to begin Clark’s tattoo career.
Clark had shops in several South African cities including Durban and Johannesburg. He was a contemporary of George Burchett, the famous English tattoo artist who spent a few years in Johannesburg. Burchett did the tattoo work on Professor Clark and Professor Clark fully tattooed his wife, Bertha, who became Princess Beatrice.
Clark returned to the United States in 1913 and lived in New York and Chicago. He joined Ringling Brothers World’s Greatest Shows in 1914 and exhibited and tattooed in the Lew Graham sideshow as the Tattooed Man.
Clark’s most famous tattoo was the portrait of the venerated South African statesman, Paul Kruger, the President of the Transvaal, tattooed by George Burchett on the shaved top of Clark’s head. Clark also was tattooed on the soles of his feet, but no images remain of those tattoos.
Clark died in Montreal, Canada on April 18, 1918 from complications of Bilharzia he contracted in the Magaliesberg Valley in South Africa in 1900. He was survived by his widow, Bertha, and his son Francis. Clark is buried in Montreal.
As a pioneer of professional tattooing in South Africa and a student of the school of Burchett, J. T. Clark is one of the most captivating figures in early electric tattooing. Beginning at the turn of the 20th century, Clark was in the center of the tattoo boom that was unfolding at the time. Tattoos were gaining popularity due to a surge in tattoo suppliers and increasing public interest in body art. During his travels, Clark crossed paths with many tattooists, some English and some American. One of the most prominent tattooists of the era, George Burchett, became Clark’s friend and colleague. Burchett quickly covered Clark’s body in his now famous elaborate and detailed tattoo work and made a heavy impact on Clark that would be evident for the rest of his career. From his early days of tattooing the locals in South Africa to his exploits traveling across country all over the North American continent, Clark was as well rounded as they come. He had the proof etched into his skin and in the tattoo flash he painted. Clark was known for his finely detailed and thin line style that was somewhat of a contrast with what was being done in America at the time. While many of his American peers were busy recreating the tattoo designs available from many tattoo suppliers, Clark was painting and designing his own original flash. This set him apart along with his knack for grand showmanship - often billing himself as the only man in the world with a tattooed skull. Despite that not being the case, it shows just how committed to his art that he was.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lukas, Judith and York, Nicholas. Tattooing to Perfection. Emgate Press, 2021
Burchett, George. Compiled and edited by Peter Leighton. Memoirs of a Tattooist. Oldbourne Book Co., Ltd. 1958
References
External links
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