Stanley Clifford-Smith

Stanley Clifford-Smith (1906–1968) was an English Expressionist painter and textile designer who was active as an artist in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

The son of a photographer, Clifford-Smith was born in Reddish, , 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 for James Templeton & Co in Scotland. It was at this time that he first began to paint.

During the Second World War, Clifford-Smith was a member of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. 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 works much influenced by the French expressionist, Georges Rouault. In 1952 he moved with his family to Great Bardfield in north west Essex, firstly 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 mid to late 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 Great Bardfield Artists were diverse in style and rivalled the better known 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 one-off and touring shows in the late 1950s.

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