FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 2010

Color It Bizarre: Clarice Cliff Pottery from a Michigan Collection
Muskegon Museum of Art
April 29 through August 1, 2010

Color It Bizarre: Clarice Cliff Pottery from a Michigan Collection 
brings together 175 exceptional examples of Cliff’s colorful wares 
designed at the Wilkinson and Newport pottery companies under her 
direction in the 1920s and 1930s. Cliff’s distinctive wares are highly 
collectible and sought by an enthusiastic international audience. Color 
It Bizarre presents a broad selection of her hallmark works and is drawn 
from a private collection that may be the largest private Clarice Cliff 
collection in North America.

When Clarice Cliff, a young, independently minded decorator at A. J. 
Wilkinson’s Royal Staffordshire pottery company, first experimented with 
geometric patterns hand painted on traditionally shaped wares in 1927, 
the delightful mismatch earned the name “Bizarre,” and the public was 
smitten. Thus began the exceptional career of one of the most prolific 
and important Art Deco ceramics designers of the 20th century.

Clarice Cliff (1899-1972) was of humble Staffordshire origins at the 
heart of the British pottery industry. She entered the industry at 13, 
and by the age of 28, her extraordinary talent, determination, and 
vision moved her to the forefront of British pottery design.

Clarice experimented with glazes and pottery body colors, as well as 
modern shapes that suited the Jazz Age. Her boldly colored, complex 
abstract designs vied for attention with whimsical landscape and floral 
patterns. An astute business woman, her innovative approach to color, 
design, and shape appealed to a youthful market and she was instrumental 
in making stylish, hand-painted wares available to the masses. As early 
as 1928, her name appeared on the backstamp (maker’s mark) of Bizarre 
wares—one of the few women in British potteries allowed the honor—and by 
1936, wares were simply marked “Clarice Cliff,” her popularity was so 
well established.

Opening Reception & May Tours
The Muskegon Museum of Art will hold an opening reception on Thursday, 
April 29, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. A lecture by Cliff experts and 
collectors, Kay and Peter Wentworth-Sheilds, will follow the reception 
at 7:00 p.m. MMA docents will lead free, guided public tours of the 
exhibition from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. every Thursday throughout May. Call 
231.720.2570 or e-mail visit www.muskegonartmuseum.org for visitor 
information.

Color it Bizarre was organized by the Muskegon Museum of Art and is 
underwritten by the Hines Corporation.

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VISITOR INFORMATION

The Muskegon Museum of Art is located at 296 W. Webster Ave. in downtown 
Muskegon, Michigan. Call 231-720-2570 or visit www.muskegonartmuseum.org 
for information.

Admission: $5.00 (Free on Thursdays)
Free admission for MMA Members, students (with I.D.), and ages 17 and 
under.
Extra admission may be charged for special exhibitions and events.

Hours:
SUN noon-4:30pm
MON closed
TUES closed
(June thru August 10am-6pm)
WED 10am-4:30pm
THURS 10am-8:00pm
(June thru August 10am-6pm)
FRI 10am-4:30pm
SAT 10am-4:30pm

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Judith Hayner
Muskegon Museum of Art

MEDIA CONTACT
Marguerite Gawron
Communications and Public Relations Coordinator
Muskegon Museum of Art
296 W. Webster Ave.
Muskegon MI 49440
tel. 231.720.2574
fax. 231.720.2585
mgawron@mpsk12.net
www.muskegonartmuseum.org