Clarence McGrath was born in Arizona, son of a sharecropper, and worked on the family ranch while sketching and painting in his spare time. Encouraged by his family, and by hometown artists and druggist Hal Empie, McGrath received early recognition for his artistic endeavors. Glen West, his art instructor at Eastern Arizona Junior College, helped mold the young artist. Confident he could make a living as an artist, Clarence moved to Phoenix then to California where he worked for Knotts Berry Farm. McGrath studied with local artists Phil Gilkerson, Sergei Bongart and Leon Franks. in 1962, McGrath earned the J.F. and Anna Lee Stacey Fellowship Award, which provided a painting trip to Central America, afterwhich he spent time in New Mexico, and Southern California. Clarence MeGrath's work focuses on the human element, and his work is often compared to that of the Russian painter, Nicolai Fechin. Reference: "Artists of the Rockies and the Golden West" Winter 1981