Clara Tice was propelled into the spotlight of the New York art world quite unexpectedly when, in March 1915 the headline “Comstock Ban Brings Art Buyer” sparked the interest of the New York Tribune’s readership. Anthony Comstock, retired captain of the Society for the Suppression of Vice, raided an exhibition of her work at Polly’s Restaurant in Greenwich Village. Apparently, the seventy-year-old Comstock found her delicate little drawings of nude female figures too provocative for public display. Before he was able to take any further action one of the diners bought the pictures and thus saved them. The whole affair caught the attention of Frank Crowninshield, editor of Vanity Fair magazine, who published photographs of Tice’s nudes and announced a mock trial that was going to be held in her defense at Bruno’s Garrett on Washington Square South. “She will be tried,” the announcement read, “and therefore acquitted of the charges of having committed unspeakable, black atrocities on white paper, abusing slender bodies of girls, cats, peacocks and butterflies.” Later Tice would say that Comstock was her best press agent. This was only the first occasion when Comstock tried to confiscate Tice’s art – many others were to follow. Her art was the perfect target for him since her favorite subject were female nudes which she portrayed perfectly in oil as well as with just a few fast lines in her drawings. Her fame soon skyrocketed thanks to Comstock.
From then on she and her pictures were familiar sights in New York City. Clara Tice had several one-man exhibitions in Manhattan. She also designed theater curtains, menus, murals, posters and invitation cards for costume balls and worked on many other objects. Beginning in 1920 she started to illustrate books. Many of these were published by the Pierre Louÿs Society – a private society to avoid censorship.
It was not only Tice’s art that could be seen in magazines at that time but also images of herself. This occurred because she was seen as one of the important personalities of downtown bohemia and even called the “Queen of Greenwich Village.”
World War I and the Depression influenced not only everyday life, but also inflicted Tice’s work and art. The demand for lavishly illustrated books decreased and it became more difficult to sell works of art. Besides several minor projects Clara Tice’s greatest success after the war was the publication of ABC Dogs. It is an alphabet book in which each of the twenty-six letters are presented by an illustration of a dog whose name begins with this specific letter. Every dog picture is accompanied by a short, witty text written by Tice. Although this book once again brought her public recognition it did not take long before she was forgotten by the art community. She spent the last two decades of her life in a small apartment in Queens – creating art and taking care of the animals she loved so dearly.
-
Mademoiselle De Maupin – Double Love, Theophile Gautier, illus. Clara Tice (Privately Printed for The Pierre Loüys Society, 1927 #67/1250) 6.5″x10″, 407pp., black spine over decorated boards, gilt titles and decorations on spine, binding loose but holding. In September 1833, Gautier was solicited to write a historical romance based on the life of French opera star Mlle. Maupin, who was a first-rate swordswoman and often went about disguised as a man. Originally, the story was to be about the historical La Maupin, who set fire to a convent for the love of another woman, but later retired to a convent herself, shortly before dying in her thirties. Gautier instead turned the plot into a simple love triangle between a man, d'Albert, and his mistress, Rosette, who both fall in love with Madelaine de Maupin, who is disguised as a man named Théodore. The message behind Gautier's version of the infamous legend is the fundamental pessimism about the human identity, and perhaps the entire Romantic age. The novel consists of seventeen chapters, most in the form of letters written by d'Albert or Madelaine. Most critics focus on the preface of the novel, which preached about art for art's sake through its dictum that "everything useful is ugly". Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier (1811 – 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and remains a point of reference for many subsequent literary traditions such as Parnassianism, Symbolism, Decadence and Modernism. He was widely esteemed by writers as disparate as Balzac, Baudelaire, the Goncourt brothers, Flaubert, Pound, Eliot, James, Proust and Wilde. -
One Hundred Merrie and Delightsome Stories (Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles) (2 volumes), trans. Robert B. Douglas (Privately Printed for Subscribers only, Carbonnek, 1924, #591/1250) 8 7/8" X 5 3/4", 2 vol. 279pp 272pp, hardbound no DJ, dark green moire silk boards decorated in blind stamp, spines lettered and decorated in gilt, gilt top edge, other edges deckle, frontispiece signed by the artist, Clara Tice, very good condition, slight bumping on corners This is a two volume set of books beautifully bound and in excellent condition. Some pages remain uncut. A rare book in rare condition. It is signed by the artist, Clara Tice, under the frontispiece. It is illustrated with 16 full page drawings by Clara Tice. Purported a collection of short stories narrated by various persons at the court of Philippe le Bon, and collected together by Antoine de la Sale, the nouvelles are, according to the authority on French Literature—Professor George Saintsbury "undoubtedly the first work of literary prose in French ... The short prose tale of a comic character is the one French literary product the pre-eminence and perfection of which it is impossible to dispute, and the prose tale first appears to advantage in the Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles." The stories give a curious glimpses of life in the 15th century, providing a genuine view of the social condition of the nobility and the middle classes. M. Lenient, a French critic, says: "Generally the incidents and personages belong to the bourgeoisée; there is nothing chivalric, nothing wonderful; no dreamy lovers, romantic dames, fairies, or enchanters. Noble dames, bourgeois, nuns, knights, merchants, monks, and peasants mutually dupe each other. The lord deceives the miller's wife by imposing on her simplicity, and the miller retaliates in much the same manner. The shepherd marries the knight's sister, and the nobleman is not over scandalized. The vices of the monks are depicted in half a score tales, and the seducers are punished with a severity not always in proportion to the offence." For four centuries 10 of the stories were credited to Louis XI. Modern scholars have since ascribed them to either Philippe le Bel or Comte de Charolais. In all, some thirty-two noblemen or squires contributed the stories, with some 14 or 15 taken from Giovanni Boccaccio, and as many more from Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini or other Italian writers, or French fabliaux, but about 70 of them appear to be original. -
The Twilight of the Nymphs, Pierre Louys, illustrated by Clara Tice, "designed and supervised by Harry Cunningham" (The Pierre Louys Society, US, 1927, #682/990) 9.75" x 6.5", 235pp, white boards with silver gilt decorations on cover and spine, no dustjacket, fair condition, back boards loose but holding, pages clean. Pierre Louys (1870 - 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who "expressed pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection." A collection of seven mildly erotic fables based on mythology. "This Edition Limited to 1250 copies of which 990 are for America, No. 682". 28 beautiful color illustrations by Clara Tice, all with tissue overlay and enhanced with gilt and silver. -
Woman and Puppet, Pierre Louys, illustrated by Clara Tice, "designed and supervised by Harry Cunningham" (The Pierre Louys Society, US, 1927, #617/990) 9 7/8" X 6 1/2", 270pp, hardbound with , black boards with red titles and decorations, MINT condition, with dust jacket wrapped in mylar. Bookstore stamp on front paste-down "C. J. Schnieder Books" During the carnival in Seville, the Frenchman André Stévenol meets and falls under the spell of Conception 'Concita' Perez, a young Andalusian woman. His friend, don Mateo Diaz warns him off by describing his own history with the woman – a history of being repeatedly attracted and then rebuffed by her. Conchita continually flirted with other men to torture don Mateo. On each occasion he was made to feel guilty for his jealous thoughts and actions towards her, until he realised finally that he had been her puppet for fourteen months and in an explosion of passion he beat her. She then astonished him by declaring the violence a sign of the strength of his love and came to his bed. She was a virgin. Although the two then started living together, she continued her flirtatious behaviour towards other men and simultaneously became very possessive. Don Mateo left the country and travelled for a year to escape her. The novel has a short epilogue, described as the moral of the piece. The Frenchman accidentally meets Conchita again, and they spend the night together. The next morning, as Conchita packs her bags for Paris, a note is received from don Mateo asking to be taken back into Conchita's good graces. Pierre Louys (1870 - 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who "expressed pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection." Woman and Puppet is described as "Spanish romance". The "puppet" in the story refers to men she is able or unable to bend to her will.