Hilda Margery Clarke

Hilda Margery Clarke, née Thompson, was born in Manchester, England. Her maternal grandfather, architect Arthur Mattinson, encouraged her interest in art, which was further developed by lessons from L.S. (Laurence Stephen) Lowry, whom she met at age 14, a lifelong friend. In 1954, she married Geoffrey Clarke and moved with him to his home town of Southampton, where she studied at Southampton College of Art. She also studied printing at the Ruskin School in Oxford.

She became a well-known painter, signing her work "H.M. Clarke," whose work has been exhibited throughout England and is represented in private and public collections. She also has been artist-in-residence in Ramsgate. In 1979 she founded the First Gallery in Southampton with her husband.