He was born March 1860 in Mars- sur Allier and died 1930 in France.

Clair was a painter of animals, local figures and landscapes with animals and/or figures. He was also a successful engraver

He was a regular exhibitor at the Salon des Artists Francais and he became a full member in 1913.

It was in depicting pastoral landscapes with shepherds or shepherdesses and their flocks that he was most at home. He also painted river scenes, rural landscapes and possessed an ability to capture people in their daily work whether it be a washer woman or labourers at harvest time.

Typical titles of his work include “Sheep returning to the Fold” (oil on canvas), “Interior of Sheep barn” and “Working the Fields” (both oil on canvas) and his work regularly comes up for auction and is popular with private collectors.