Clarke, William (SCC Newsletter February 1995)

WILLIAM CLARKE.

c 1780.

MrMckechnie has an entry on Mr. Clarke in the section "ON PLASTER" (p.618) - although at the time of publication she stated "I myself have seen no identifiable silhouette by Clarke." It is a great loss that she did not know of the Andrews Collection, which subsequently came to light and is now 'housed' at Stoner Park in Oxfordshire. There are 10 examples of his work in this Collection - she would have had a feast day studying these! During the course of this article I will be illustrating 8 of the silhouettes - plus the backs of 4 of these.

In addition to Mrs. McKechnie's entry there is an entry in Mrs. N. Jackson's "A History and Dictionary of Artists" on p.91 and in Mr. Arthur Mayne's "British Profile Miniaturists." on p.109. All three are agreed that he was an itinerant artist, who was known to work in Durham, Newcastle, Harrogate and Chester - but understandably all failed to find out any details of his life. They accepted that he painted on thin layers of plaster on card - showing detail with opaque paint and not with a thinned medium.

Mrs. Jackson had seen a labelled example of Clarke's work in the Wellesley Collection before this was sold in 1917. This label referred to designs in "hair for lockets, rings, pins and bracelets." Mr. Clarke also gave lessons in plaiting hair for decorative purposes. As recorded by D. Foskett he advertised in the Adam's Weekly Courant, Chester in which he referred to his neatness of work and moderate charges - this led Mr. Mayne to make quite a point in his book about Mr. Clarke's cheeseparing ways - particularly referring to the fact that he did not frame his silhouettes!

In regard to his style only Mr. Mayne commented on this - although I am not clear what he had seen of Clarke's work. He described it as "bold, vigorous and distinctive" - adding that his silhouettes "have a strong initial attraction, but will not bear close examination."!

Mr. Clarke’s advertisment in the Courant further told the ladies that they need not have their heads dressed, as he will "finish the Head in an elegant manner entirely from his own fancy……..” Finally he ended with “this stay in Town will be very short." Quite a good approach I think to drum up the custom!

W. Clarke. cont.

What do we learn from the Clarke silhouettes in the Andrews Collection in addition to that recorded by the three well-known authors on the subject?

Seven of the ten silhouettes in the Collection have no bust-line termination - and all seven would appear to be painted in the same style - Their faces are in dense black. Clothing details, particularily head - dresses and cravats are done with much care and neatness. Various shades of grey are used for clothing detail. A prominant eyelash is shown. I have assumed the silhouettes are painted on a form of plaster card, but it was not possible to remove the backs in anyway. The silhouettes could be on plaster.

All are framed in pressed brass frames and would appear to have been put in these at the time they were painted. The frames are all in the same style but vary very slightly in size from 8.0 cms to 8.8 cms. I am not sure if this is unusual - I think it would be for Mr. John Miers. Perhaps Mr. Clarke bought a 'job lot' for cheapness -which might lend weight to Mr. Mayne's view of him!

Of these seven those with labels or inscriptions on the back are of special interest. One has a printed label in good condition - another has what appears to be an identical label but in a poor condition. Both these are illustrated beside the silhouettes of which they are the backs. This label is not the same as the one quoted on the ex. Wellesley Collection silhouette but it has some similarities. Interestingly it is addressed to the people of Exeter - a 'new' venue for Mr. Clarke. Also it states "HANG IN FRAMES" - which indicates that Mr. Clarke had changed his 'ways' in regard to framing, if Mr. Mayne was correct about this. Also it may indicate that the silhouettes in the Andrews Collection were done later - on in Mr. Clarke's career. Unfortunately the label cannot be read in it’s entirety, as it is not printed for an oval frame! This gives more cause for speculation in regard to the shape of Mr. Clarke's frames. No doubt his plaster cards were rectangular, but equally he might have been using-up old labels for economy!There was a handwritten label on silhouette no.141. Unfortunately this was not clear enough to photograph with any success, but I quote it in full as follows:-

W.Clarke.Cont.

"Any number of copies can be done without a second sitting, shades of absent or deceased friends accurately copied, ordered to any size and dresses of the present taste by Clarke." This is followed by his signature. (It is hoped to make an attempt to photograph this label at a later date, when another visit can be made to the Collection.) Silhouette no.142 has a short inscription on the back with no signature. This is assumed to be by Clarke in view of the style of the silhouette. This is illustrated over the page together with the label in poor condition.

The other thing that is noticeable about Mr. Clarke's work on these seven silhouettes is that he is particularily skilled with the painting of wigs and women's hair. It has to be said that Mr. Clarke's

silhouettes are pretty impressive and I am sure that most of us would like to be in a position to acquire one. Several are displayed at the side of the fireplace in one of the principle rooms at Stoner and look most attractive.

Of the three remaining silhouettes by Clarke in the Collection I have only photographed one, which had an inscription behind. These present some 'problems' as they are quite different from the other seven. They have a bust-line termination, which is very similar to that of John Miers. I suppose it is not impossible that Mr. Clarke copied Mr. Miers in this respect - as he would know of him and had no doubt seen examples of his work. Two of the three are in plain black - as the old lady illustrated - with a little detail outside the main body. The third has some 'lighter' detail for the man's cravat. Hopefully it will be possible to photograph the remaining two at a later date with a follow-up article on Mr. Clarke.

The writing on the back of the old lady with the prominent nose is quite clear from the illustration except for the name of the street -

W. CLARKE, cont.

so I will quote it in full:- "Miniature profiles by Clarke of Lord Street, Liverpool. "This inscription introduces yet another area Mr. Clarke visited. I suppose one could speculate that there was another Clarke, who painted these three silhouettes, but it seems unlikely. The three are 'housed' in similar frames to the other seven silhouettes known to be by W. Clarke.

Hopefully these photographs will help you to stand some chance of recognising Mr. Clarke's work. It would be nice to know if any of you have an authenticated silhouette by Mr. Clarke preferably with a photograph. Also, it would be interesting to know if anyone has seen silhouette jewellery by Mr. Clarke. It may be that his hair and pearl work was not combined with the painting of silhouettes, but this is unlikely - so there must be some pins or rings by him somewhere - unless these all fell to pieces!

I have thought about trying to find out some personal details about Mr. Clarke and his life in general, but do not know where to start. Dates seem to be a problem - as all his labels and inscriptions are undated. We know he was working in 1780 and 1781 and that is that. It is difficult to know how prolific he was. It is likely that unframed examples of his work will not have been kept by families as framed examples might be. We have no idea about his charges as these are not mentioned on the few labels that we know about - it is strange that he apparently makes no mention of these - perhaps he negotiated with 'clients'!

I thought I might write to Exeter as now have clear 'proof' that he visited that town - although his "very short stay" may make it unlikely that any success will result.