Clarice C. Fischer

Clarice Evelyn Craig was born to Everett (a high school math teacher) and Clarice (a piano teacher) in 1924. “Craig “ (as she was known professionally and to her friends) attended the Art Institute of Chicago, where she met her future husband, John McGuinness. Together they became a successful commercial art team, working for art studios and large multi-nationals.

Craig's drawings have been used across a variety of applications: from new hotels in Havana, Cuba in the 1950s to large Midwestern stores (such as the Boston Store, Marshall Fields and Lord & Taylor) from the 1970s well into the 90s. Craig was a fantastically resilient and hard-working individualist, supporting herself and her three children though life, college and beyond. As a single mom, few people are hard-working enough to be able to support a family through their talent alone. Craig was one of those rare people. She was devoted to her family, loving and generous. She was creative, driven and tenacious. She “pushed the envelope “and “thought outside the box" long before those concepts were a thing. In her later years, Alzheimer’s robbed her of her memory, yet she never lost her sense of dry humor and vivacity. Any accomplishments of her children are both a testament and an honor to her. She will be deeply missed.