Clarke was born in
Harrow in
Middlesex. Her father, Joseph Thacher Clarke was an American architect. Clarke won a scholarship that allowed her to attend the
Slade School of Fine Art. Aged fifteen, Clarke initially studied at the Slade on a part-time basis for three days each week throughout 1910 and 1911 but during 1915 and 1916 she studied sculpture there as a full-time student. Clarke first exhibited at the
Royal Academy in 1923 and continued to do so until 1959. In the early 1930s she was a regular exhibitor in group shows at the
Goupil Gallery and in March 1937 had her first solo show at the French Gallery. The most notable of her memorials is the panel and medallion tribute to
Joseph Conrad at
Bishopsbourne in Kent, which was unveiled in 1927. This proved to be the only portrait medallion acquired for the WAAC collection. Clarke made several appearances on the nascent television service of the BBC, including as
Mary Adams' interviewee in an episode of
The World of Women first broadcast on 13 April 1937 and as presenter of the programmes
Making a Life Mask (1 November 1937) and
Making a Poster (21 February 1938). Sculptures by Clarke are held in various museums, including the
Ashmolean Museum which also holds a 1936 portrait of her by
Orovida Camille Pissarro. ==References==