Henry Ray Clark was a folk artist born in Bartlett, Texas, and moved to Houston, where he became a criminal with the street name of "The Magnificent Pretty Boy". After a series of drug-dealing convictions he was found guilty of an assault, his third strike in the Texas Three Strikes Law, which sentenced him to 25 years in Huntsville State Prison. While in prison he developed a characteristic drawing style involving detailed patterning and line work, and was discovered at a prison art show by William Steen, who sold Clark's work to national and international buyers. Clark died on July 29, 2006, the victim of a robbery and murder in his home. Read more from Wikipedia →
Works by this artist in other museums: the Smithsonian American Art Museum.