Edward (Ed) Clark (May 6, 1926 ââ¬â October 18, 2019) was an abstract expressionist painter known for his broad, powerful brushstrokes, radiant colors and large-scale canvases. An African-American, he wasnââ¬â¢t widely recognized as a major modernist until relatively late in a seven-decade career, during which he pioneered the use of shaped canvases and of the everyday push broom to create striking works of art.