Clark, Harold T. (Harold Terry), 1882-1965
Biography
Harold Terry Clark, attorney and philanthropist, served the CMA as a trustee for thirty-six years, from 1929 until his death in 1965. In 1949 he succeeded William G. Mather as president of the museum, serving in that capacity until 1962 when he became chairman of the Board of Trustees. During Clark’s tenure as president, the erection of a much-needed new wing of the museum was conceived, planned and completed. The enlarged structure was opened to the public in 1958. A major donor for this building program was Leonard C. Hanna, Jr., a client of Clark’s law practice.
Harold Clark was educated at Yale College, graduating in 1903. He received his law degree from Harvard Law School three years later. He relocated to Cleveland in 1906 for a position at the law firm of Squire, Sanders and Dempsey. At the time, the firm was engaged in a matter involving the proposed consolidation of three separate and independent local bequests, each having for its objective the establishment of an art museum in Cleveland. The complicated case continued in an unsettled state for approximately six years, and required considerable special legislation and a confirmatory lawsuit, all of which culminated successfully in 1913 in the formation of the Cleveland Museum of Art. It was a masterful accomplishment and Clark’s part in it was significant. Thereafter, as a member of his law firm and later in his independent practice, he served as the museum’s legal counsel until his death.
World War I was a defining experience for Clark. In 1918, he attended the Officers’ Training School for the Intelligence Service and became Bernard M. Baruch’s administrative secretary at the War Industries Board. At the end of the war, Woodrow Wilson sent Baruch with Clark as his assistant to the Peace Conference in Paris as American representatives of the Economic Drafting Committee. For his successful negotiation for the large sum needed by the Belgian government, Clark was decorated as Chevalier of the Order of Leopold I.
Harold Clark guided millions of dollars to cultural and civic service institutions in Cleveland. During the Depression and World War II, Clark kept the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in operating funds. He preserved Mentor Marsh, promoted relocation of Holden Arboretum to Kirtland, helped transform Brookside Park into a zoo, and influenced formation of the Metropolitan Park System. As vice-president and trustee of the Cleveland Society for the Blind, Clark promoted sight-saving and Braille classes.
The Western Reserve University conferred on Clark an honorary doctorate of humanities in 1945. Clark was the 1958 recipient of the Charles Eisenman Award for Civic Service to Cleveland awarded by the Jewish Community Federation. In 1961 the Cleveland Museum of Natural History began awarding the Harold T. Clark Medal to those "whose achievements inspire a love and respect for nature."
On May 31, 1965, Clark suffered a fatal heart attack. He was buried in Lake View Cemetery.
-Biography by Anne Cuyler Salsich, 2025