STANLEY CLIFFORD-SMITH
My father, Stanley Clifford-Smith was born in Reddish, a satellite town of Manchester, in 1906. The son of a photographer, he was educated at an international school in Paris and later at Manchester Grammar School. In the 1930s he was involved in the carpet trade working firstly as a salesman and later as a designer for the Scottish carpet manufacturer James Templeton & Co. It was during the 1930s that he first began to paint. In 1932 he married Susan Taylor and the couple had a daughter. The relationship was not to last the pressures of the Great Depression and the couple soon separated.
During the Second World War, he was a Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. After leaving the armed forces, the now divorced, Clifford-Smith married the English artist Joan Glass who he had met during the war. In 1947 the couple left London for a new start in Suffolk. The artist disliked his christian name and by this time signed his work under the name 'S. Clifford-Smith'. While in East Anglia he painted mainly religious works and was greatly influenced by the French expressionist Georges Rouault.
In 1952 he moved with his growing family to Great Bardfield in north-west Essex, firstly living in Buck's House. In his new home Clifford-Smith was an active member of the Great Bardfield Artists community during the mid to late 1950s and became the Honorary Secretary of the group. During the 1950s the Bardfield artists included: John Aldridge, Edward Bawden, George Chapman, Stanley Clifford-Smith, Audrey Cruddas, Joan Glass, Walter Hoyle, Sheila Robinson, Michael Rothenstein, Marianne Straub among others.
The Great Bardfield Artists were diverse in style and rivalled the better known art community at St. Ives for media attention. Clifford-Smith and the other Bardfield artists exhibited in the large 'open house' shows in the rural village in 1954, 1955 and 1958 as well as several one-off exhibitions and touring shows in the late 1950s. These exhibitions attracted thousands of visitors and made the art community famous thanks to press, radio and TV coverage. Clifford-Smith's work in the 1950s was diverse and included Irish and Italian landscapes, images of ships, as well as hypnotic 'mother and child' portraits. He received many positive press reviews for his work while at Great Bardfield. In 1958 he moved to the Old Bakehouse in Great Bardfield with his family., and during the late 1950s he began to teach art in Cambridge.
In the early 1960s the Great Bardfield art community fragmented and Clifford-Smith and his family (which now included four sons) moved to Little Baddow Hall near Chelmsford. During his time at Little Baddow he painted mainly thickly textured monochrome moon portraits, works inspired by the 1960s interest in space. During this time he also taught painting at Chelmsford Technical College.
Clifford-Smith died (aged 62) in 1968. He was survived by his widow and five children from his two marriages. Following his death, the artist had several important exhibitions; a retrospective at the Minories, Colchester (1969), Little Baddow Hall Arts Centre (1979) and at the Fry Art Gallery, Saffron Walden (1998). His work is included in several collections including the University of Cambridge, Benjamin Britten Foundation, Aldeburgh, Suffolk; the Beecroft Art Gallery, Southend, Essex; and Thaxted Church, Essex.
© Silas Clifford-Smith 2017
'Under Moonlight: a portrait of Stanley Clifford-Smith & Joan Glass' by Silas Clifford-Smith [ISBN 978-0-646-94221-6] was published in early 2016
During the Second World War, he was a Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. After leaving the armed forces, the now divorced, Clifford-Smith married the English artist Joan Glass who he had met during the war. In 1947 the couple left London for a new start in Suffolk. The artist disliked his christian name and by this time signed his work under the name 'S. Clifford-Smith'. While in East Anglia he painted mainly religious works and was greatly influenced by the French expressionist Georges Rouault.
In 1952 he moved with his growing family to Great Bardfield in north-west Essex, firstly living in Buck's House. In his new home Clifford-Smith was an active member of the Great Bardfield Artists community during the mid to late 1950s and became the Honorary Secretary of the group. During the 1950s the Bardfield artists included: John Aldridge, Edward Bawden, George Chapman, Stanley Clifford-Smith, Audrey Cruddas, Joan Glass, Walter Hoyle, Sheila Robinson, Michael Rothenstein, Marianne Straub among others.
The Great Bardfield Artists were diverse in style and rivalled the better known art community at St. Ives for media attention. Clifford-Smith and the other Bardfield artists exhibited in the large 'open house' shows in the rural village in 1954, 1955 and 1958 as well as several one-off exhibitions and touring shows in the late 1950s. These exhibitions attracted thousands of visitors and made the art community famous thanks to press, radio and TV coverage. Clifford-Smith's work in the 1950s was diverse and included Irish and Italian landscapes, images of ships, as well as hypnotic 'mother and child' portraits. He received many positive press reviews for his work while at Great Bardfield. In 1958 he moved to the Old Bakehouse in Great Bardfield with his family., and during the late 1950s he began to teach art in Cambridge.
In the early 1960s the Great Bardfield art community fragmented and Clifford-Smith and his family (which now included four sons) moved to Little Baddow Hall near Chelmsford. During his time at Little Baddow he painted mainly thickly textured monochrome moon portraits, works inspired by the 1960s interest in space. During this time he also taught painting at Chelmsford Technical College.
Clifford-Smith died (aged 62) in 1968. He was survived by his widow and five children from his two marriages. Following his death, the artist had several important exhibitions; a retrospective at the Minories, Colchester (1969), Little Baddow Hall Arts Centre (1979) and at the Fry Art Gallery, Saffron Walden (1998). His work is included in several collections including the University of Cambridge, Benjamin Britten Foundation, Aldeburgh, Suffolk; the Beecroft Art Gallery, Southend, Essex; and Thaxted Church, Essex.
© Silas Clifford-Smith 2017
'Under Moonlight: a portrait of Stanley Clifford-Smith & Joan Glass' by Silas Clifford-Smith [ISBN 978-0-646-94221-6] was published in early 2016