Stuart Roy Clarke

Life

Clarke was born in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire on 19 August 1961, the youngest of three children of Mary (born Punton-Smith) and Roy Percy Clarke, a quantity surveyor. His paternal grandfather, Percy, was the mayor of Berkhamsted between the Wars and commisioned the building of many of the town’s recreational facilities and also oversaw the opening of the town’s Rex cinema and the arrival of The British Film Institute (then The BFI National Archive) at Kingshill in 1935. His maternal grandfather was a master at Millfield School (founded 1935) near Glastonbury where his mother spent her early years.

Further education led Clarke through a year at Hertfordshire College of Art & Design at St Albans where his photography abilities and keen eye were seized upon by product designer cum lecturer Richard Seymour. Accordingly, Clarke proceeded to do a degree in Film & Photographic Arts at the Polytechnic of Central London.

Career

After several years of working for local newspapers in Hertfordshire and as a freelance photographer for Time Out magazine in London, Clarke went to live in The Lake District, where he began “The Homes of Football” in 1990.

The football opus, documenting the changing face of the game, was self-funded initially but then evolved into a touring exhibition hired by various municipalities and shown in 80 museums and art galleries over a 15 year period. In 1997 Clarke also opened a permanent gallery to his football work in the heart of the Lake District, at Ambleside, in the county of Cumbria.

In 2005, he started “Cumbria Surrounded”, which went on to win the Lakeland Illustrated Book Of The Year in 2010.

The football project has continued to dominante Clarke’s career, with recent summers revolving around photographing British pop festivals, including Glastonbury.

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions (UK unless specified)

Collections

Books

Television