Having studied under artists such as Carl Milles, Eliel Saarinen and Zoltan Sepeshy, Clifford West remained a fixture in the Kingswood Fine Arts Department for more than 20 years.

Before beginning his tenure as head of the department, West took a short leave of absence to receive his master's degree from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. He returned to teach art history and painting at Kingswood.

A pioneer in audio-visual education, West began making films on Renaissance Art because of the shortage of art history teaching aids. Due to success of the films in the classroom, West continued making films on different modern day artists including Milles.

Kingswood students also took advantage of West’s exceptional painting skills. During his career, he cultivated a worldwide group of single-person and group exhibitions and collections with his murals.