Merton Clivette

Merton Clivette (born Merton Clive Cook) was an American painter, magician, vaudevillian, and entertainer who traveled the world before settling in New York to focus on painting. A highly regarded artist among his peers, he was associated with both the Ashcan realism movement and American Expressionism. His style evolved throughout the 1920s, moving from realism through expressionism toward figurative and abstract work, characterized by a free-flowing technique rarely painting over a line twice.