Clarence Bicknell (1842-1918) was a man of letters, an artist, author, traveller, botanist, archaeologist, pastor, humanist and Esperantist. Born in Herne Hill near London, Clarence was the 13th child of Elhanan Bicknell, whale oil 
magnate and art patron. After studying at Cambridge University he was an Anglican priest for 15 years, then from 1879 lived in Bordighera on the Italian coast between Menton and Genoa; he died at his summer home nearby in Casterino in the high mountains of the Franco-Italian border on 17th July 1918.
Marvels: the book. A treasure trove of research discoveries enlightens Valerie Lester’s biography of the captivating scientist and artist, Clarence Bicknell… MARVELS: The Life of Clarence Bicknell, Botanist, Archaeologist, Artist. MARVELS was published in 2018 and has 212 images, it is full colour throughout and is essential reading for those interested in Clarence. Order your copy from us now; click here for our shop and scroll down to MARVELS.
The Marvels of Clarence Bicknell: the film. The 18 minute documentary biopic of Clarence Bicknell, in the evocative visual style of French director Rémy Masséglia, was released in 2016. Watch the film in HD 1080 here now by clicking on the film box, left or the Vimeo link www.vimeo.com/clarencebicknell/marvels. The French, Italian and the Esperanto versions are similarly available on www.vimeo.com/clarencebicknell. 
You can find out more about the film on the FAQ sheet, in English here, version en français, in our newsletter, in the text of the screenplay of the film and in the story of the making of the film.
The Clarence Bicknell Association. Outside Tende and Casterino in the French Maritime Alps plus Bordighera and Genoa in Italy, Clarence seems to be the forgotten genius of 19th century science, arts and crafts. Our activities aim to put that right, i.e. make him known to a wider public across France, Italy, the UK and worldwide. Who are we? Would you like to join us?
This web site. Welcome to clarencebicknell.com, the web site launched in July 2013 which provides
1) information for researchers and a place to share the results of research, see our Documents page,
2) more on Clarence and his talents for those discovering him,
3) details of the Clarence Bicknell Association and how to join ; the minutes of General Meetings, the names of the elected officers and their bios are all available as downloads on the Who We Are and Documents pages,
4) info about past and future events like the publication of MARVELS (see above), exhibitions, lectures and other events in Italy, France, the UK, USA and elsewhere,
5) galleries of the wonderful images Clarence created… select the drop-down menu at Artist
6) our online shop launched in 2024 where you can purchased framed or unframed prints of Clarence’s arts-and-crafts-style wild flower water-colours from his Casa Fontanalba Visitors’ Book and books. Click here.
We thank Rémy Masséglia and Zelda Zien of Lez’Art Creation in Breil, just a few miles from the Vallée des Merveilles for the 2013 site. It was rebuilt by Titus and Marcus Bicknell in WordPress (Sydney theme) in November 2024 to avoid disruption of our WooCommerce shop by Elementor.
We would be delighted to get your feedback via email info@clarencebicknell.com. And… see us on Facebook, Instagram and X.
updated November 2024 Marcus Bicknell (Clarence was my grandfather’s uncle)