Stanley Clifford-Smith

Stanley Clifford-Smith (1906 - 1968) was an English Expressionist painter active as an artist in the 1940s, 50s and 60s.

Early life

The son of a photographer, Clifford-Smith was born in Reddish, Stockport, Cheshire and was educated in Manchester and Paris. In the 1930s he was involved in the carpet trade working firstly as a salesman and later as a designer at James Templeton & Co. It was at this time that he first began to paint.

Art

During the Second World War, Clifford-Smith was a member of the Royal Navy Volunteer Service. After leaving the armed forces, he married the English artist Joan Glass (1915-2000). The couple left London for Suffolk in 1947. While in East Anglia he painted mainly religious subjects much influenced by the French expressionist, Georges Rouault. In 1952 he moved with his family to Great Bardfield in north west Essex living in "Buck's House", Great Bardfield. In his new home Clifford-Smith was an active member of the Great Bardfield art community during the 1950s and later 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 Bardfield artists were diverse in style and rivalled the more famous art community at St. Ives.

Clifford-Smith and the other Bardfield artists exhibited in the large 'open house' shows in the isolated village in 1954, 1955 and 1958. These shows attracted thousands of visitors and made the art community famous thanks to national press coverage and several touring national shows in the late 1950s. The artists work in the 1950s was diverse and included Irish and Italian landscapes as well as hypnotic mother and child portraits. Clifford-Smith received many positive press reviews for his work while at Bardfield. In 1958 the artist moved to the "Old Bakehouse" in Great Bardfield. In the early 1960s the Bardfield art community broke up, and Clifford-Smith and his family moved to Little Baddow Hall near Chelmsford, where he continued to paint up to the time of his death. During his time at Little Baddow he painted mainly thickly textured monochrome moon portraits. The artist had a retrospective of his work at "The Minories", Colchester (November 1969), Little Baddow Hall Arts Centre (July 1979) and at the Fry Art Gallery, Saffron Walden (September/October 1998). The artist disliked his forename and signed his work under the name 'S. Clifford-Smith'.

Personal life

He was married to the English artist Joan Glass (1915-2000).

References

* Silas Clifford-Smith, `Clifford-Smith turns 100', "Newsletter", Fry Art Society, Saffron Walden, Essex, March 2007

* Stephanie Coy, 'Clifford-Smith: The man who fell in love with the moon', Fry Gallery, Saffron Walden, Essex, 1998

* James Evetts, 'Clifford-Smith 1906-1968', "The Minories", Colchester, Essex, November 1969

* Colin MacInnes, "Great Bardfield Artists", W. S. Cowell Ltd, Ipswich, c.1957

* Martin Salisbury (Ed), "Artists at the Fry", Ruskin Press, Cambridge, 2003

* W. J. Strachan, 'The Artists of Great Bardfield', "The Studio", London, March 1958

* Malcolm Yorke, "Edward Bawden & His Circle: The Inward Laugh", Antique Collectors' Club, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2007