Lon Clark, Dean Lon Clark is a San Francisco artist working in painting, photography, drawing and mixed media. His longstanding involvement with these mediums serve to underscore his commitment to the nature of visual art and its breadth. Originally from New York City, Clark studied at the Silvermine School of Art at an early age. He then attended Pratt Institute and the Art Students League where he studied with Edwin Dickinson, Mercedes Matter, Charles Cajori and Philip Pearlstein. During that period Clark approached Mercedes Matter about founding an art school representing the ideals of depth of drawing and painting over the fragmented curricula at degree-granting art schools. Subsequently he worked closely with Matter on the creation of the New York Studio School. To immerse himself further in painting Clark then moved to Woodstock, NY. While in Woodstock Clark was selected for the new talent show at the Woodstock Artists Association, received attention from Philip Guston, who took an interest in his work, won awards at the Albany Institute and a purchase prize at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute and exhibited at the Polari Gallery. Clark moved to Southern California where he maintained a studio in Topanga Canyon. During that period of time he completed a series of large paintings under the auspices of the actor Lee Marvin. He then settled in San Francisco where he was represented by the ADI Gallery; his ongoing interest in photography led to his working closely with the photographer Ruth Bernhard, helping her publish the first portfolio of her work. Clark was a founding member of SF Camerawork and at a later date served on its board of directors. He also founded North Beach Press, which was noted for the quality of its publications and their dedication to fine art at a time when photography was not as widely accepted as an art form. His own photography publication, "Itinerary" won top awards across the country. For several years Clark directed summer workshops called, Subjects of the Photographer, exploring the visual relationship of drawing to photography. He has taught at colleges in the Bay Area for many years, often concentrating in the areas of color and still life and the consideration of landscape as a contemporary genre in the visual arts. Most recently he was Director of Graduate Photography at the Academy of Art University, where he developed a strong program in fine art. His current emphasis is teaching drawing and painting. His paintings, photographs, and publication design are represented in various collections and have won many awards. Lon Clark is cofounder and Dean of the San Francisco Studio School.