Clarice Cliff

Clarice Cliff (January 20, 1899 - October 23, 1972), was a ceramic artist of the early to mid 20th century.

Clarice studied at the Burslem School of Art, and began work at A.J. Wilkinson's pottery factory in 1916. Her famous ‘Bizarre’ ware was launched in 1927 when she was given a free rein to decorate the factory's surplus 'glost' (white) ware in a striking Art Deco style. To the surprise of the company's salesmen, this was immediately popular and she was provided with her own studio and team of young paintresses to hand paint the wares under her direction. Through the depths of the depression her wares continued to sell in volume at what were high prices for the time.

In 1940 she married her then boss Colley Shorter and subsequently moved to nearby Chetwynd House. The factory continued to sell work under Clarice’s name until 1964.

In 1972 the first Clarice Cliff exhibition took place at Brighton, East Sussex, for which she provided comments for the catalogue. Later that year Clarice died suddenly at Chetwynd House. This exhibition marked the start of a major revival of interest in Clarice's work, which has continued to be sought after by Art Deco Ceramic collectors.

Her earliest pieces from the late 20s are traditional shapes decorated in strongly geometric patterns and bold contrasting colours. This early ware is usually stamped 'Bizarre' and sells for moderate prices at auction.

By the early 1930s Clarice was designing her own shapes, often very angular and with high Art Deco styling. Abstract and cubist patterns appeared, and also landscapes of trees, flowers, cottages... but these are not like anyone else's landscapes... Clarice's are highly stylised and interpreted in stong colours. 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 softer colours and a more rounded shapes, often with small flowers cast into the handle and only these painted in detail. Other series from this period include 'Harvest' which often has a corncob or raffia surface, and the 'Le Bon Dieu' in the shape of pieces of tree branch. This late 1930s ware attracts relatively low prices at auction, though becoming more valuable.

After WW2, Clarice retired, though the 'Clarice Cliff' mark was frequently added to the standard ranges made by the factory. This postwar ware had no input from Clarice and has little value at auction.

A chain of mergers eventually led to Wedgewood owning the brand, and in the late 1990s they produced a range of reproductions of the highly sought 1930s Deco pieces. These are 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 have already acquired significant values at auction. Other pieces were made in larger quantities with printed (not hand painted) patterns, and these are also starting to be sought at auction. These reproductions should not be confused with forgeries (of which a number are found), the Wedgwood ones are clearly marked as 'Wedgewood Clarice Cliff' and were produced by the current holder of the copyright.

1999 saw the centenary celebrations of Clarice's life and work. This featured the ‘Bizarre Art’ exhibition at the Wedgwood Visitors Centre, Barleston, Stoke-on-Trent.

External links

• The Clarice Cliff Web Site (http://www.claricecliff.co.uk/) Information and links.
• The Clarice Cliff Collectors Club (http://www.claricecliff.com/) Biographical details, exhibition information and links to images of her designs.