Art Smith (jeweler): Difference between revisions
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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 African-American, and as a result was subject to attacks shortly after his store opened.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title = Catalog: From the Village to Vogue: The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=O5KqNwAACAAJ|publisher = Brooklyn Museum|date = 2008-01-01|chapter-url = http://artsmithjewelry.com/as20.html|chapter = Biography}}</ref> A fan of jazz and modern dance, he was personally acquainted with musicians of the period including [[Lena Horne]], [[Harry Belafonte]], and [[Talley Beatty]].<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|title = Obituary: Art Smith|url = http://www.925-1000.com/amx_smithA.html|website = www.925-1000.com|accessdate = 2015-10-18|date = 1982-03-06|last = Tapley|first = Mel|publisher = New Amsterdam News}}</ref> |
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 African-American, and as a result was subject to attacks shortly after his store opened.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title = Catalog: From the Village to Vogue: The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=O5KqNwAACAAJ|publisher = Brooklyn Museum|date = 2008-01-01|chapter-url = http://artsmithjewelry.com/as20.html|chapter = Biography}}</ref> A fan of jazz and modern dance, he was personally acquainted with musicians of the period including [[Lena Horne]], [[Harry Belafonte]], and [[Talley Beatty]].<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|title = Obituary: Art Smith|url = http://www.925-1000.com/amx_smithA.html|website = www.925-1000.com|accessdate = 2015-10-18|date = 1982-03-06|last = Tapley|first = Mel|publisher = New Amsterdam News}}</ref> |
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Smith died in 1982 of heart disease.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.vnews.com/Articles/2016/03/From-Archives/ArtNotes-ns-vn-031016|title=Art Notes: Lebanon Resident’s Book Memorializes Pioneering Jewelry Designer’s Legacy|last=Smith|first=Nicola|date=2016-03-10|newspaper=Valley News|access-date=2017-02-12|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref> |
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== Exhibitions and holdings == |
== Exhibitions and holdings == |
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Revision as of 00:09, 13 February 2017
Arthur George "Art" Smith (1917–1982) was one of the leading modernist jewelers of the mid-20th century, and one of the only African-Americans in the field. He trained at Cooper Union, NYU, and under Winifred Mason.[1][2]
Style
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 extremely large, and designed to be worn by avant-garde dancers. This influenced his style. 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]
Biography
Smith was born in Cuba, after his parents emigrated there from Jamaica. They moved to New York City when he was three.[6][7]
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 African-American, and as a result was subject to attacks shortly after his store opened.[8] A fan of jazz and modern dance, he was personally acquainted with musicians of the period including Lena Horne, Harry Belafonte, and Talley Beatty.[8][9]
Smith died in 1982 of heart disease.[10]
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.[8] 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][11]
References
- ^ a b Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. "Art Smith". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ Schon, Marbeth. "The Jewelry of Winifred Mason". Modern Silver. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
- ^ a b "From the Village to Vogue: The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith". Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
- ^ Schrieber, Fran. "Review: From the Village to Vogue, The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith". Modern Silver. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
- ^ "Art Smith | Necklace". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ Russell, Charles L. (2015-12-28). Art as Adornment: The Life and Work of Arthur George Smith. Outskirts Press. ISBN 9781478743156.
- ^ From the Village to Vogue: The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith. Brooklyn Museum. 2008-01-01.
- ^ a b c "Biography". Catalog: From the Village to Vogue: The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith. Brooklyn Museum. 2008-01-01.
- ^ Tapley, Mel (1982-03-06). "Obituary: Art Smith". www.925-1000.com. New Amsterdam News. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
- ^ Smith, Nicola (2016-03-10). "Art Notes: Lebanon Resident's Book Memorializes Pioneering Jewelry Designer's Legacy". Valley News. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "Arthur Smith". Museum of Arts and Design Collection Database. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
External links
- Video of Brooklyn Museum exhibition
- Oral history interview with Art Smith, 1971 August 24-31, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
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