Clark Hulings

Clark Hulings, an Artist who Pursued Timeless Beauty, Dies at Age 88 Clark Hulings, whose paintings are prized by art collectors worldwide, died on Wednesday, February 2, 2011, in Santa Fe, N.M., where he lived. He was 88. As one of the leading American realist painters, Mr. Hulings traveled the world looking for rural and urban landscapes and genre scenes that became the subjects of paintings reflecting the vibrancy of the human spirit. Mr. Hulings' subject matter was gathered throughout North America and Europe, notably France, Italy, and Spain, where he lived as a child and frequently visited as an adult. Among his signature subjects are complex Mexican and European market scenes and donkeys - his trademark. Throughout his career Mr. Hulings maintained a personal profile far lower than his national acclaim. Born in Florida, November 20, 1922, Mr. Hulings was raised in Westfield, N.J. Over his lifetime, he resided in New York, Louisiana, and throughout Europe before settling in Santa Fe in 1972. His art training began as a teenager with Sigismund Ivanowsky and George Bridgman and continued at The Art Students League with Frank Reilly. With a degree in physics from Haverford College, Pa., Hulings pursued an initial career as a portraitist in Louisiana, followed by freelance illustration in New York, notably paperback book covers, during the 1950s. By the early 1960s, Mr. Hulings devoted himself to easel paintings. In 1965 he debuted in New York, N.Y., at The Grand Central Art Galleries. In 1976 he was the subject of a solo exhibition at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Center, Oklahoma City, Ok., which was documented in the book HulingsA Collection of Oil Paintings (Lowell Press), followed in 1978 by a retrospective at the Museum of the Southwest, Midland, TX, and a 1981 exhibition at the C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls, Mt. Most recently, Mr. Hulings' work was the subject of a 2007 one-man exhibition at J.N. Bartfield Galleries, New York, and Morris & Whiteside Galleries, Hilton Head, S.C. His scheduled exhibition of paintings at the Forbes Galleries, New York, takes place March 23 through June 18, 2011. In 1986, Mr. Hulings authored the book A Gallery of Paintings by Clark Hulings (White Burro Publishing). The book was updated and reissued in soft cover in 2006. His paintings have been included in countless articles and surveys such as The Majesty of the Grand Canyon: 150 Years of Art (Pomegranate Press) and Landscapes of New Mexico: Paintings of the Land of Enchantment (Fresco Fine Art Publishing). He is the recipient of awards from organizations such as The Allied Artists of America, The Salmagundi Club and The Hudson Valley Art Association. In 1973 he received the Prix de West award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, where his painting Grand Canyon, Kaibab Trail is in the permanent collection. In his adopted state, Mr. Hulings was recognized with his first one-man show in 1945 at the New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe. In 1985, the museum installed a Hulings plaque on its artist walk of fame; and in 2004, he received the New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. Mr. Hulings is survived by his wife Mary Belfi Hulings, daughter Elizabeth Hulings Diamond, son-in-law Patrick Diamond, grandson Nicolas Diamond, one sister, Susan Ottinger, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Arrangements are under the direction of Berardinelli Family Funeral Service 1399 Luisa Street Santa Fe, NM 87505 (505) 984-8600 Please sign our guestbook for the family at: www.berardinellifuneralhome.com