Claude Conover, a native of Pennsylvania, studied painting and sculpture at the Cleveland School of Art (presently the Cleveland Institute of Art). Following graduation in 1929, Conover built a successful career in Cleveland as a commercial designer in the advertising and print industries. During this time, he spent much of his free time sculpting. In the 1950s, Conover began working in ceramics, earning a purchase award from the Cleveland Museum of Art for one of his early works. He shifted his career to ceramics and exhibited on a regular basis and achieved success in selling his work to private collectors. In 1969, his work was included in Objects: USA, seminal exhibition by the Smithsonian Institute.