Brian Clarke created the series ‘The Two Cultures’ in 1981. Dedicated to the writer C.P. Snow, these eight prints were published in an edition of 75 each by Robert Fraser Gallery. They were printed at Kelpra Studios with the screenprinter Chris Prater under Clarke’s supervision. Three of the prints, Boys, Buildings and Beauties, form a triptych within the series.

The series was inspired by Clarke's conversations with Snow. In the last six months of Snow’s life, Clarke became friends with the novelist, physical-chemist and cultural critic. As the author of The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution in 1959, Snow had theorised a gulf between the sciences and humanities. He believed that Clarke’s paintings and constructions of the period represented a possible merging of the two disciplines.

Widely exhibited, including at the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Sezon Museum of Modern Art, the Seibu Museum, and the Hessisches Landesmuseum, a set of these works is in the permanent collection of the Tate Britain.