Harry Clarke

Henry Patrick Clarke (17 March 1889 – 6 January 1931) was an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator. Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts movement.

His work was influenced by both the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements. His stained glass was particularly informed by the French Symbolist movement.

Early life Harry Patrick Clarke was born on 17 March 1889, the younger son and third child of Joshua Clarke and Brigid (née MacGonigal) Clarke. Joshua Clarke was a church decorator who moved to Dublin from Leeds in 1877 and started a decorating business, Joshua Clarke & Sons, which later incorporated a stained glass division. Through his work with his father, Clarke was exposed to many schools of art but Art Nouveau in particular.

Clarke was educated at the Model School in Marlborough Street, Dublin and Belvedere College, which he left in 1905. He was devastated by the death of his mother in 1903 when he was only 14 years old. Clarke was then apprenticed into his father's studio and attended evening classes in the Metropolitan College of Art and Design. His The Consecration of St Mel, Bishop of Longford, by St Patrick won the gold medal for stained glass work in the 1910 Board of Education National Competition.

At the art school in Dublin, Clarke met fellow artist and teacher, Margaret Crilley.

Clarke was commissioned by the Committee of the Irish National War Memorial in 1919 to illustrate the Ireland's Memorial Records 1914-1918, a roll of honour for the 49,435 Irish who died during World War I. Illustrations for the 8 volumes were completed in 1922 and published in 1923, and a set is on display in the Irish National War Memorial Gardens. 100 copies of the book were distributed to cathedrals and libraries across Ireland and to other Allied countries. Each page features a large four-sided border of black and white illustrations by Clarke.

Difficulties with these projects made Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen his first printed work, in 1916. It included 16 colour plates and more than 24 halftone illustrations. This was followed by illustrations for an edition of Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination: the first version of that title was restricted to halftone illustrations, while a second with eight colour plates and more than 24 halftone images was published in 1923. of the latter, a window illustrating John Keats' The Eve of St. Agnes (now in the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery in Dublin) and the Geneva Window, created for the Centre William Rappard in Geneva, Switzerland (now in the Wolfsonian Museum, Miami, Florida, US).

Later years and death

Both Harry and his brother Walter were plagued with ill health, in particular problems with their lungs.

In 2026, a plaque marking Clarke's birthplace was unveiled on North Frederick Street in Dublin.

Gallery Stained glass

Illustrations

Works

As illustrator Andersen, H. C. — The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen, George Harrap, London, 1916 Poe, E. A. — Tales of Mystery and Imagination, George Harrap, London, 1919 Walters, L. d'O. — The Year's at the Spring, George Harrap, London, 1920 The Year's at the Spring via HathiTrust Perrault, C. — The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault, George Harrap, London, 1922 Ireland's Memorial Records 1914–1918, Maunsel and Roberts, Dublin, 1923 Volume Five via Trinity College Dublin Warren, G. C. — The History of a Great House, John Jameson & Son, Dublin, 1924 Warren, G. C. — Elixir of Life {Uisge Beatha} John Jameson & Son, Dublin, 1925 Goethe, J. W. von — Faust, George Harrap, London, 1925 Swinburne, A. C. — Selected Poems of Charles Swinburne, John Lane, London, 1928