Born in Dublin Ireland, Harry Clarke (1889 – 1931) was a book illustrator and a stained glass artist. Devastated by the death of her mother when he was only 14 years old, Clarke left school to apprentice with his father while attending evening classes in Metropolitan College of Arts and Design. Harry Clarke completed his education in 1913 and later moved to London to seek work as a book illustrator. Hired by Harrap Publishers, some of his notable first works were Fairy Tales (1916) by Hans Christian Andersen, followed by Edgar Allen Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination. Harry Clarke illustrations in black and white with brooding and dark mood cleverly accentuate the nightmarish and mysteries behind the story told by Edgar Allen Poe. Clarke’s work is often compared to the likes of Aubrey Beardsley, Kay Nielsen, Gustave Dore and Edmund Dulac.
Together with his brother Walter, Harry Clarke was also a prolific stained glass artist. Commissioned and produced over 130 windows for public places. He was best known for his religious artworks and distinctive use of thick black lines (reminiscent of his book illustration techniques), and usage of striking rich colors especially deep blues. Clarke died of tuberculosis at the young age of 41, due to constant exposure to chemicals used to make stained glass.
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