Alfred Corning Clark

Alfred Corning Clark (November 14, 1844 – April 8, 1896) was an American heir and philanthropist.

He was the son of Edward Cabot Clark (1811–1882) and Caroline Jordan (1815–1874). His father made an enormous fortune as the partner of Isaac Singer in the Singer Sewing Machine Company, invested it in New York City real estate, and left a $25,000,000 estate at his death. In 1869, Clark married Elizabeth Scriven (1848–1909), and they had four sons: Edward Severin Clark, Robert Sterling Clark, Frederick Ambrose Clark and Stephen Carlton Clark.

Clark maintained three residences in Manhattan: a city house at 7 West 22nd Street for his family, a nearby flat at 64 West 22nd Street for guests, and a large apartment in The Dakota overlooking Central Park for entertaining. Clark's father built The Dakota (1880-84), but died during its construction. Edward Cabot Clark skipped a generation and bequeathed the building to his 12-year-old grandson and namesake, Edward Severin Clark.

Clark assembled a collection of French academic paintings. He purchased Pollice Verso (Thumbs Down) (1872) by Jean-Léon Gerome from the estate of Alexander Turney Stewart. It is now in the collection of the Phoenix Art Museum. In 1888, he purchased Gerome's The Snake Charmer (1880), but his family sold it after his death. His son Sterling re-acquired the painting in 1942 for the museum he founded, the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute.

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