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[[File:Galaxy Necklace, ca. 1962.jpg|thumb|Galaxy Necklace, ca. 1962, from the collectio of the [[Brooklyn Museum]]]]
[[File:Galaxy Necklace, ca. 1962.jpg|thumb|Galaxy Necklace, ca. 1962, from the collectio of the [[Brooklyn Museum]]]]
[[File:Art Smith "modern cuff" bracelet on model.jpg|thumb|Model wearing a Smith bracelet designed c. 1948]]
[[File:Art Smith "modern cuff" bracelet on model.jpg|thumb|Model wearing a Smith bracelet designed c. 1948]]
Smith's jewelry has been described as:<blockquote>Inspired by surrealism, biomorphicism, and primitivism ... dynamic in its size and form.<ref name=":0" /></blockquote>Many of his pieces were designed to be worn by avant-garde dancers, which influenced his style. The pieces were often large. Of his own work, he said:<blockquote>A piece of jewelry is in a sense an object that is not complete in itself. Jewelry is a ‘what is it?’ until you relate it to the body. The body is a component in design just as air and space are. Like line, form, and color, the body is a material to work with. It is one of the basic inspirations in creating form.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Review: From the Village to Vogue, The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith|url = http://www.modernsilver.com/villagetovogue/villagetovogue.htm|website = Modern Silver|accessdate = 2015-10-18|last = Schrieber|first = Fran|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151113053653/http://www.modernsilver.com/villagetovogue/villagetovogue.htm|archive-date = 2015-11-13|url-status = dead}}</ref></blockquote>[[Alexander Calder]] was also an influence.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/497596|title=Art Smith {{!}} Necklace|website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art|access-date=2017-02-12}}</ref>
Smith's jewelry has been described as:<blockquote>Inspired by surrealism, biomorphicism, and primitivism ... dynamic in its size and form.<ref name=":0" /></blockquote>Many of his pieces were designed to be worn by avant-garde dancers, which influenced his style. The pieces were often large. Of his own work, he said:<blockquote>A piece of jewelry is in a sense an object that is not complete in itself. Jewelry is a ‘what is it?’ until you relate it to the body. The body is a component in design just as air and space are. Like line, form, and color, the body is a material to work with. It is one of the basic inspirations in creating form.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Review: From the Village to Vogue, The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith|url = http://www.modernsilver.com/villagetovogue/villagetovogue.htm|website = Modern Silver|accessdate = 2015-10-18|last = Schrieber|first = Fran|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151113053653/http://www.modernsilver.com/villagetovogue/villagetovogue.htm|archive-date = 2015-11-13|url-status = dead}}</ref></blockquote>[[Alexander Calder]] was also an influence.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/497596|title=Art Smith {{!}} Necklace|website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art|access-date=2017-02-12}}</ref> Smith was friend and contemporary to many in the downtown arts and fashion scene, such as Knobkerry's [[Sara Penn]].<ref>{{cite book |last1= Kitto|first1= Svetlana|author-link= |date= 2022 |title= Sara Penn's Knobkerry: An Oral History Sourcebook|url= http://www.sculpture-center.org/publications/13233/sara-penn-s-knobkerry-an-oral-history-sourcebook|location= Long Island City, NY|publisher= [[SculptureCenter]]|page= |isbn=978-1-7377186-0-4}}</ref>


== Biography ==
== Biography ==

Revision as of 18:22, 18 May 2022

Spiral necklace, 1958 ca.

Arthur George Art Smith (1917–1982) was one of the leading modernist jewelers of the mid-20th century, and one of the few Afro-Caribbean people working in the field to reach international recognition. He trained at Cooper Union, NYU, and under Winifred Mason.[1][2]

Style

Galaxy Necklace, ca. 1962, from the collectio of the Brooklyn Museum
Model wearing a Smith bracelet designed c. 1948

Smith's jewelry has been described as:

Inspired by surrealism, biomorphicism, and primitivism ... dynamic in its size and form.[3]

Many of his pieces were designed to be worn by avant-garde dancers, which influenced his style. The pieces were often large. Of his own work, he said:

A piece of jewelry is in a sense an object that is not complete in itself. Jewelry is a ‘what is it?’ until you relate it to the body. The body is a component in design just as air and space are. Like line, form, and color, the body is a material to work with. It is one of the basic inspirations in creating form.[4]

Alexander Calder was also an influence.[5] Smith was friend and contemporary to many in the downtown arts and fashion scene, such as Knobkerry's Sara Penn.[6]

Biography

Smith was born in Cuba, after his parents emigrated there from Jamaica. They moved to New York City when he was three years old.[7][8]

As an adult, Smith worked in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, running a shop there from 1946 until 1979 (shortly before his death). Smith was a gay Afro-Caribbean, and as a result was subject to attacks shortly after his store opened.[9] A fan of jazz and modern dance, he was personally acquainted with musicians of the period including Lena Horne, Harry Belafonte, Eartha Kitt and Talley Beatty.[9][10]

Smith died in 1982 of heart disease.[11]

Exhibitions and holdings

During his life, Smith's work was featured in Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, and exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts.[9] Posthumously, Smith's work was the subject of an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in 2008-2011,[3] and is held in the permanent collection of the Cooper Hewitt Museum, Museum of Art and Design, and Boston Museum of Fine Arts.[1][12]

One piece of Smith's sold for $22,000,[11] and a cufflink collector told the New York Times that Smith's cufflinks were the most expensive pieces in his collection.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. "Art Smith". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  2. ^ Schon, Marbeth. "The Jewelry of Winifred Mason". Modern Silver. Archived from the original on 2015-05-20. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  3. ^ a b "From the Village to Vogue: The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith". Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  4. ^ Schrieber, Fran. "Review: From the Village to Vogue, The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith". Modern Silver. Archived from the original on 2015-11-13. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  5. ^ "Art Smith | Necklace". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  6. ^ Kitto, Svetlana (2022). Sara Penn's Knobkerry: An Oral History Sourcebook. Long Island City, NY: SculptureCenter. ISBN 978-1-7377186-0-4.
  7. ^ Russell, Charles L. (2015-12-28). Art as Adornment: The Life and Work of Arthur George Smith. Outskirts Press. ISBN 9781478743156.
  8. ^ From the Village to Vogue: The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith. Brooklyn Museum. 2008-01-01.
  9. ^ a b c "Biography". Catalog: From the Village to Vogue: The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith. Brooklyn Museum. 2008-01-01.
  10. ^ Tapley, Mel (1982-03-06). "Obituary: Art Smith". www.925-1000.com. New Amsterdam News. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  11. ^ a b Smith, Nicola (2016-03-10). "Art Notes: Lebanon Resident's Book Memorializes Pioneering Jewelry Designer's Legacy". Valley News. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  12. ^ "Arthur Smith". Museum of Arts and Design Collection Database. Archived from the original on 2016-06-24. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  13. ^ Kahn, Eve M. (2016-07-21). "When Form Meets Function: Cuff Links Throughout the Centuries". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
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