Mitzi Cunliffe

Mitzi Solomon Cunliffe (January 1, 1918 – December 30, 2006) was an American sculptor. She was most famous for designing the golden trophy in the shape of a theatrical mask that would go on to represent the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and be presented as the BAFTA award. She also produced textiles, ceramics, and jewellery.

Cunliffe was born Mitzi Solomon in New York City. She attended the Art Students League of New York from 1930 to 1933 and read Fine Arts and Fine Arts Education at Columbia University from 1935 to 1940, receiving a BSc in 1939 and an MA in 1940.

Upon graduation, she moved to Paris, where she studied at the Académie Colarossi for a year. After viewing the western side of Cathedral of Chartres, she settled on becoming an architectural sculptor. Following this she studied for a period in Sweden. Her early works, of free-standing figures, were admired by Le Corbusier. She was awarded the 1949 Widener Gold Medal by the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts for A Voluptuous Object.

Cunliffe, then Solomon, was one of the sculptors who exhibited at the 3rd Sculpture International in Philadelphia in 1949. She is one of the sculptors identified in the 70 Sculptors photograph taken at that event. Also in 1949, she met and married British academic Marcus Cunliffe, who later became known for his books about American history and literature. He was a lecturer at Manchester University, and she moved with him to Didsbury. They had a son and two daughters (one of whom is Shay Cunliffe, CDG Award-winning costume designer). They were divorced in 1971.

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