Image: Margaret White, see source below.
The painter, Clarence Willie Northing (1895 – 1973), was born in Bradford. He was the fourth of six children to Edward Northing and Betsy (nee Neal) and the family lived at Walker Terrace in the Bowling district of the city.
Family members recalled that he showed an early interest and talent in drawing and painting, and earned some pocket money by drawing pictures of local scenes and offering these to the owners of the properties concerned. Clarence used the money to purchase more art material.
After leaving school, Clarence found work with a local firm, where he learned the craft of picture mounting and framing; skills he was able to utilize in later life with his own artwork. In his own time he developed a wide range of interests, including photography, woodwork, as well as engaging with poetry, literary and political discussion. He also gained a scholarship to enable him to formally study art at evening classes in the city.
In WW1 Clarence served as a private in the Northamptonshire Regiment and saw active service on the Western Front at Ypres, Poelcapelle, Wytschaete, Houlthurst Forest and Passchendaele. He was eventually severely wounded and was invalided out of the army on full pension.
Clarence returned to Bradford and during the long convalescence that followed, developed his art talents by travelling the country on sketching and painting trips, equipped with with a tent and painting materials. By this time too, he had become a member of the Yorkshire Union of Artists, and his paintings accepted for exhibition at regional shows, including at the Cartwright Gallery, Bradford.
East Wind, Lancashire Landscape. Image: Victoria Art Gallery, Bath.
In 1922 Clarence was well enough to take up employment again, this time as an assistant in the Art Department of Boots the Chemist in Sheffield. The same year he married Lillian Whitaker and, unaided, built and equipped a wooden bungalow near Sheffield to be their home, making the fittings and some furniture himself. The couple raised five children.
Clarence’s own art ran parallel to his paid employment with Boots. Although he painted portraits and still life, the main focus of his artwork was on landscape and urban scenes, painting in watercolours, but also on occasions using oils, as well as pencil, pens, crayon, and pastels. He had also taught himself etching and to print, using wood and lino cuts.
Clarence lived at worked in Sheffield for 10 years before moving to the Boots Art Department in Manchester. He lived with his family at Romiley, Cheshire, and became closely involved with the art scene in Manchester and elsewhere in the region.
He set up a studio in his home and led an art group, teaching classes and private pupils and organising outings for sketching groups. One of his many artist friends and acquaintances was the emerging Salford artist, L S Lowry, who visited Clarence’s home and sometimes joined his sketching groups.
Two Bridges. Image: Salford Museum & Art Gallery
In WW2 the Boots art department at Manchester was destroyed by bombing, so Clarence was relocated and appointed manager of the the Boots Art Department in Cheltenham, where he again quickly joined the arts community in the town.
He continued to exhibit his artwork at exhibitions around the north of England, including at the Liverpool,Salford, Stockport and Manchester art galleries, as well as at galleries in Bath, Bristol, Tewkesbury, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Bath and Bristol.
In the late 1960s, he moved to North Wales and joined the Flint Art Club, where he became a leading light of the club, giving lectures and demonstrations to fellow members and exhibiting work at shows in the region.
Greenacres. Image: Flint Town Council
For many years he received from George Rowney & Co. newly developed paints and other artists’ materials, including the innovative Cryla acrylic paints, to trial and report on.
He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Artists and today Clarence’s paintings can be found in the permanent collections at Salford Art Gallery, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, and the Flint Town Council collection. They also regularly appear on auction sites. His daughter, Margaret White, said of her father:
He is remembered by all who knew him as a forthright man, with a rather quirky sense of humour. He maintained his love of art, learning and independence throughout his life.
Primary source: Margaret White