Clarice Smith was born, educated and resides in the Washington, DC area. She attended the University of Maryland and received a BA and MFA from the George Washington University, where she was also a member of the Art Department faculty from 1980-1987. In 2012, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts by the George Washington University to mark her distinguished career in the arts. In 2015, Clarice was awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Maryland.

She has been painting professionally for over 40 years, and has had numerous solo exhibitions in prestigious galleries in the United States and abroad, including London, Paris, Zurich, Maastricht and Jerusalem. She was previously represented by the Kennedy Galleries and is now represented by the Gerald Peters Gallery in New York City.

Clarice is best known as a traditional painter, trained through life drawing and works in oil. Her oeuvre includes portraits, florals, landscapes, still lifes and scenes of horses and sport. Recent museum exhibitions include solo shows at The National Museum of Women in the Arts, DC (2009); Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond (2011); (November 2013) at the New-York Historical Society, NY; the National Sporting Library and Museum, Middleburg, VA (2014); and the Kreeger Museum, Washington, DC (Oct. 7, 2016 to Dec. 30, 2016). Clarice will be featuring a new work produced in collaboration with metal sculptor Albert Paley, entitled Triptych.

Most recently, Clarice has expanded her artistic endeavors to include working with stained glass and was commissioned by the New-York Historical Society to create a stained glass window for an oculus in their Grand Hall. She collaborated with the Venturella Studio to produce this work and is continuing to collaborate with them further on stained glass projects.