Clarice Cliff

Last updated 16th, October, 2008

FROM humble beginnings in Stoke-on-Trent, Clarice Cliff, the doyenne of Art Deco pottery, is now a name as easily recognisable as her striking, floral and abstract designs.

One of eight children, she was born on January 20, who lived in her own flat, and regularly appeared in the newspapers.

Rene Dale, of Burslem, was one of Ciff’s Bizarre Girls, working for the celebrated designer as a freehand paintress at Newport Pottery, from the age of 14.

In an interview given to The Sentinel in 1996, she remembered: “Clarice loved to put what she called a bit of innocent tomfoolery into her work and said she felt that British housewives deserved a bit more gaiety in their lives.

“She started with a lot of inferior ware and used her outlandish designs to cover the cracks. This ware had a yellow or honey-coloured glaze, not white, which made the bright colours stand out even more.

“We made cheap stuff sold in Woolworths. It was only worth a few shillings then. All the same, we knew that we were something special. We were Clarice Cliff's girls, or babes, all trained from school.

“Before touching any pottery, we had to do about six months of brush strokes round the edge of a plate. We did it until we were sick of the sight of it.

“While I was learning, I got 5s 7d a week, which was poor pay. I asked Clarice for a rise, but she refused. I was on my way to Susie Cooper's just down the road to apply for a new job, but Clarice rang her up and told Susie to send me back.

“The first proper job I remember doing was painting the bees on the honey pots in the Beehive range. The lid had a little bee stuck on the top. It was black and orange and wasn't too difficult.

“Later, when I was working on one of Clarice's new designs, I could do it before long without looking at the pattern. Mind you, it was all done by hand. There was no machinery, apart from a little wheel we used to put on a gold line.

“In fact, Clarice always told us never to do two pieces exactly the same, as this would be proof that it had been hand-done.

“Clarice was always very quiet and never raised her voice, whereas we sang while we worked. When Clarice came into the shop behind us, one of the girls would change to a certain song. This was a warning that the boss was around.

“Clarice kept us in order, but we appreciated that we were in good jobs. We never went on the dole all through the Depression. There was always work at Newport Pottery.”

In 1940, Clarice Cliff married her then boss, Colley Shorter, after the death of his wife Annie the year before. Worried about a scandal, the marriage at Stafford Register Office, which followed a lengthy and secretive affair, was largely kept hidden, as Cliff moved into Chetwynd House, in Clayton, Newcastle-under-Lyme, with her new husband.

Clarice Cliff created more than 700 designs in her lifetime, the most famous being her unmistakable Bizarre, Fantasque and Inspiration designs. The factory continued to produce pottery bearing her name until 1964.

Following the death of her husband in 1963, Clarice Cliff retired to Chetwynd House the following year and sold the factory – which would eventually be taken over by Wedgwood – to Midwinters.

In 1972, the first Clarice Cliff exhibition took place at Brighton, with Cliff herself providing comments for the catalogue.

But later that year, on October 23, 1972, she died suddenly at her home.

Following her death, interest in her wares slowly began to grow, until the Clarice Cliff Collectors’ Club was formed in 1982.

Since then, demand has soared for Clarice Cliff designs.

In 1983, world-famous auction house Christie's held its first dedicated Clarice Cliff auction. In 1994, a charger produced by Cliff sold for £12,100.

In 2001, a Bizarre vase featuring a multi-coloured tennis pattern, which originally cost 18 shillings, the equivalent of 90p, was snapped up by an American collector for £12,925.

Clarice Cliff’s achievements were acknowledged in Stoke-on-Trent, the home of the Potteries, in 1999. To celebrate her centenary year, the Wedgwood Museum held a six-month exhibition, Clarice Cliff – The Art of Bizarre. It was visited by 100,000 people, including many of her original Bizarre Girls, who were by then in their 80s.

She was further honoured in September 2008, when the Clarice Cliff Primary School, in Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, was officially opened.

The value of Clarice Cliff’s work shows no sign of slipping. Collectors can often expect to pay above £300 for a teapot and upwards of £600 for a vase. Many pieces can be found for sale on internet auction site eBay.

The many Cliff reproductions and fakes can usually be distinguished by their inferior colour and design.