Van Vliet, Claire
Biography
Born in 1933 in Ontario, Canada, Claire Van Vliet is an artist, typographer, and printmaker. Her parents passed away before her 14th birthday, and at 15 years old she graduated high school. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from San Diego State College in 1952 and pursued her Master of Fine Arts at Claremont Graduate School. Following graduation in 1954, she intermittently traveled to Europe to continue studying typography and printmaking. Van Vliet moved to Philadelphia in 1955 to pursue an apprenticeship at Pickering Press.
This same year she founded her publishing company, Janus Press, and published her first book, a collection of woodblock carvings for An Oxford Odyssey. Named for the Roman god of doorways and beginnings, Janus Press engages in all stages of the bookmaking process, handling binding, design, printing, papermaking, and typography, and focuses on contemporary and classic literature. Van Vliet herself creates many of the book illustrations. The Press has published over 100 artist’s books, including Keri Hulme’s The Silences Between in 2016.
Van Vliet relocated Janus Press to Newark, Vermont in 1966, where it continues to operate. Van Vliet was the recipient of the 1989 MacArthur Prize Fellowship for her work in teaching and in bookmaking, marking the first MacArthur award for excellence in bookmaking. Her work is housed in many collections, including the National Museum of Women in the Arts and the National Gallery of Art.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Production archive for Janus Press edition of The Silences Between by Keri Hulme
The collection consists of the design archive for the 2016 Janus Press edition of The Silences Between (Moeraki Conversations). It includes correspondence and notes from the founder of Janus Press, Claire Van Vliet, and the author of The Silences Between, Keri Hulme.