In 1915 Sipprell moved to New York and established her own photography studio, fulfilling a passion she’d developed as a child while assisting her brother with his studio in Buffalo. She quickly integrated into the New York pictorialist community, taking classes from Clarence H. White and befriending Gertrude Käsebier and Karl Struss. Although pictorialism, a painterly style characterized by soft-focus images and expressive printing processes, gradually became less popular, Sipprell remained dedicated to it. Sipprell lived exuberantly in New York, where she developed passions for drinking bourbon, wearing capes, and driving fast convertibles and became well-known for portraits that convey not just the appearance but the character of her subjects.

The Carter is the main repository for her work, holding about 2,300 photographs as well as the Clara E. Sipprell Papers.