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Clarice Cliff (January 20, 1899 - October 23, 1972) was an English ceramic industrial artist active from 1922 to 1963.
Cliff was born in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, England.
Early life
At the age of 13 she started working in the potteries. She studied at the Burslem School of Art in the evenings.
Her first job was as a gilder, and once she had mastered this she changed jobs to learn freehand painting at another potbank, then moved to A.J. Wilkinson's in 1916, to improve her chances of becoming a modeller.
Career
This was an unusual start to an unusual career; most young women in the Staffordshire Potteries were on 'apprentice wages', and having mastered a particular task, stayed with that to maximise their income. However, Cliff was ambitious and acquired skills in modelling figurines and vases, gilding, keep pattern books and hand painting ware (outlining, enamelling, banding).
Eventually, Cliff's wide range of skills were recognised, and she was given an opportunity to decorate some of the factory's defective 'glost' (white) ware in her own freehand patterns. She covered the imperfections in simple patterns of triangles, vividly coloured in a style that was to become known as 'Original Bizarre'. To the surprise of the company's salesman Ewart Oakes, this was immediately popular. She was provided with her own studio and another paintress to assist, but this rapidly expanded to a team of around 70 young painters, mainly women but four boys - they hand painted the wares under her direction.
Between 1928 and 1934 she evolved a range called Fantasque which featured cottages and trees, and some Art Deco inspired patterns. These have proven particularly collectible nowadays. Through the depths of the Depression her wares continued to sell in volume at what were high prices for the time. Her Bizarre and Fantasque ware was sold throughout the world, North America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, but not in mainland Europe. In Britain many top London stores sold it, including Harrods, but never Woolworths as some have stated.
In 1930 she was appointed Art Director to Newport Pottery and A. J. Wilkinson's, the two adjoining factories that produced her wares. Her work involved spending more time with the factory owner Colley Shorter, and this gradually developed into an affair, conducted in secrecy. In 1940, after the death of Ann Shorter, Colley's wife, they married and Cliff moved into the Shorter home, Chetwynd House, where she developed a strong interest in the extensive gardens.
During World War II only plain white pottery (utility ware) was permitted under wartime regulations, so Cliff assisted with management of the pottery but was not able to continue design work.
After the war, most production went to the US market where the taste was for formal ware in traditional English designs, rather than the striking patterns and shapes that had established Cliff's reputation. Thus she was never able to return to creative work. A.J.Wilkinson and their Newport Pottery continued to sell ware under Cliff's name until 1964 when the factory was sold to Midwinter.
Cliff's earliest Bizarre pieces from 1927 are the traditional shapes decorated in strongly geometric patterns of diamonds and triangles in bold contrasting colours, and now called 'Original Bizarre'. This early ware is usually stamped 'Bizarre' and sells for moderately high prices at auction.
From 1927 Cliff was credited for shapes she designed, though her modelling for the factory is recorded in trade journal as far back as 1923-24. the shapes from 1929 onwards are often very angular and some are what was to be later termed Art Deco.
Abstract and cubist patterns appeared on these, such as Ravel, seen on Cliff's Conical shape ware.
Cliff's patterns are highly stylised and interpreted in strong colours, such as the 'Honolulu' pattern. Typically stamped 'Bizarre' or 'Fantasque', rare combinations of shape and pattern can attract very high prices at auction.
By 1935 tastes had changed and the 'My Garden' series had become popular, with more rounded shapes, often with small flowers modelled as a handle or base. Only these were fully painted, but the body of the ware was covered in thin colour washes, 'Verdant' was green, 'Sunrise' yellow and so on.
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Other series from this period include 'Harvest' which has detailed modeling, This late 1930s ware attracts relatively low prices at auction.
After the second world war, although Cliff had less creative input into the ware her 'Clarice Cliff' mark was frequently added to the standard ranges made by the factory. This post-war ware has little value at auction.
In 1972, the first Clarice Cliff exhibition took place at Brighton, East Sussex, for which Clarice Cliff provided comments for the catalogue. On October 23 Clarice died suddenly at Chetwynd House, the Arts adn Crafts home she had moved into in 1940. The 1972 exhibition and the first book published privately in 1976 'Clarice Cliff' by Peter Wentworth-Sheilds and Kay Johnson (L'Odeon publishing) marked the start of a major revival of interest in Cliff's work, which has continued to be sought after by Art Deco ceramic collectors.
In 1982 the ORIGINAL Clarice Cliff Collectors Club was formed and promoted her and her work throughout the world, with a regular 'Review' publication, meetings and exhibitions in Britain, North America, Australia and New Zealand. This culminated with the centenary exhibition at the Wedgwood Museum, Barlaston Stoke on Trent. Nowadays with 26 years of experience the club is based on the internet (see below). It should not be confused with an organisation who use the same name after registering it in 1997.
A chain of mergers had led to Wedgwood owning the Clarice Cliff name, and from 1992 to 2002 they produced a range of reproductions of the highly sought 1930s pieces. These were made to a high quality, and were produced in small numbers for sale to collectors who could not find (or perhaps could not afford) the most striking original pieces.
These hand painted collectors pieces ceased production in 2002. Other pieces were made in larger quantities with printed (not hand painted) patterns. These reproductions should not be confused with forgeries (of which a number are found), the Wedgwood ones are clearly marked as 'Wedgwood Clarice Cliff' and were produced by the current holder of the copyright.
See also
External links
- The Clarice Cliff Collectors Club . Registered in England and Wales number 3212959 as a non profit making organisation owned by its members
- The Clarice Cliff Web Site Information and links.
- Clarice Cliff Collectors Club Founded 1982 . Registered under the Business Names Registration Act 1982. No. 2803197
- Stoke-on-Trent Museums See Clarice Cliff's designs, plus the World's Finest Collection of Staffordshire Ceramics at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery.