Presents from Madrid is the first work with political content that Clark exhibited. She submitted it to the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour show in April 1937, the year she was elected as a member. She demonstrates her sympathy for the Spanish Republican cause by painting the mementoes her friend Dr. Norman Bethune sent her from Spain, arranged on a table against the wall. It is an allegory of the fight for Spain—to preserve its ancient culture and build a brighter future for its people.