Clarice Cliff Feature Articles

Recently I purchased a very rare and interesting item of the non-pottery variety which I would like to take this opportunity to share with you.  It illustrates the moment in time when the term “decorative arts” was born.  We all know through the many Clarice Cliff books written by our CCCC founder, Leonard Griffin, about its’ Clarice Cliff and Colley Shorter connection.  It is very rewarding that although we cannot pinpoint an actual day or days in 1925 we can see where Clarice was and what she was experiencing. To learn that some 16 million people visited this Exhibition during the period April till October 1925 and see its extensive scale. it is easy to see why this innovative and imaginative pottery designer yearned to visit such an important event in the history of “modernity” and Art Deco.  The text was written by the vendor, to whom I am indebted.  

“In 1925 the 'Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes', a World's Fair of design and technology was held in Paris from April to October. The rather long title of this exhibition of all that was best at the time in style, design, decoration, technology and architecture was later abbreviated to the more simple 'Art Deco' and. retrospectively, it was seen as consolidating and promoting similar expressions in style and modernity from around the world.. In April 1925 the French graphic magazine 'L'Illustration', an approximate equivalent to the 'Illustrated London News', devoted much of its issue to this event - these are photographs of an original copy of that publication. 

It measures a very generous 16" by 12", is 114 pages in length and is illustrated throughout in black-and-white and colour. Of these, 62 pages are period advertisements, many fascinating and stylishly designed, 16 pages are given over to illustrated coverage of other contemporary events and the remaining 36 pages are devoted to the exhibition including many illustrations in both colour and monotone. The text throughout is, of course, in French. Ninety years old, this publication is generally in good condition. 

The website of the Victoria and Albert Museum, an institution devoted to design and the decorative arts, states "Many international exhibitions helped promote Art Deco, but none was more important than the Paris Exhibition of 1925. Officially entitled L’Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, it was dedicated to the display of modern decorative arts. The exhibition brought together thousands of designs from all over Europe and beyond. With over 16 million visitors, it marked the high point of the first phase of Art Deco."

I hope you enjoy your walk around the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et industriels Modernes……….

Doreen Mann