John Louis Clarke

John Louis Clarke (March 23, 1881 – November 20, 1970) was a Blackfoot wood carver from Montana.
Biography.
Clarke was born in Highwood, Montana. His Blackfoot name was Cutapuis. At the age of 2 Clarke became deaf from scarlet fever in an outbreak that killed five of his brothers. He attended the North Dakota School for the Deaf in Devils Lake, North Dakota; the Montana School for the Deaf and the Blind in Great Falls, Montana; and the St. John School for the Deaf in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Career.
Clarke opened and operated an art studio up until his death in 1970, in what is now East Glacier, MT. One of Clarke's sculptures was owned by Warren G. Harding and was displayed in the White House. In 1924, John D. Rockefeller purchased 4 of Clarke's sculptures. In 1940, Clarke was commissioned to create a pair of relief panels. When they were completed they each weighed more than a ton, today the two panels adorn the Blackfeet Hospital lobby. 