George Schneeman’s portrait of poet Tom Clark is one of many collaborations between the artist and a creative writer. Schneeman, popular among an intimate crowd of New York poets in the 60’s and 70’s, often used his friends as subjects for his paintings. Other times, he and poets would create works of art together, making mixed media pieces that blurred the boundaries between visual and verbal art. Tom Clark is a beautiful portrait of a friend as well as an interesting play on traditional portraiture. Schneeman was heavily influenced by early Italian Renaissance art and often incorporated materials and techniques from the period into his work. In this painting, Tom strikes a very traditional pose, but maintains his identity.