Harry Clarke (1856-1931) was one of Englands premiere illustrators of the Golden Age. A native of Ireland; Clarke eventualy gained citizenship in England. His work is often compared to that of fellow illustrator and symbolist artist Aubrey Beardsley. I believe the great difference between the two is in the line itself. While Beardsley approaches nearly compleate Art Nouveau style, mostly due to the uncanny flowing, and subtle curve of his line, Clarke was more brusque. While packing almost infinite detail into his work, he maintained an effortless looking symbolist style.
Clarke died in 1931 of tuberculosis, another common thread with Beardsley.
While Clarke is known mainly for his pen and ink illustrations, he was also a renowned designer of stained glass windows. Photo images of some of these appear here in his gallery. Also, some very intrigueing watercolor studies he did for these windows. Dont forget to click on the individual images to enlarge them for viewing. You dont want to miss a line of the wonderful detail! Click here to return to the Harry Clarke Gallery.