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Art Smith (jeweler)

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Art Smith (1917-1982) was one of the leading modernist jewelers of the mid-20th century. He trained at Cooper Union, NYU, and under Winifred Mason.[1][2]

Style

Galaxy Necklace, ca. 1962, from the collection of the Brooklyn Museum

Smith's jewelry has been described as:

Inspired by surrealism, biomorphicism, and primitivism, Art Smith’s jewelry is 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]

Personal life

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.[5] A fan of jazz and modern dance, he was personally acquainted with musicians of the period including Lena Horne, Harry Belafonte, and Talley Beatty.[5][6]

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.[5] 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][7]

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. 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. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  5. ^ a b c "Biography". Catalog: From the Village to Vogue: The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith. Brooklyn Museum. 2008-01-01.
  6. ^ Tapley, Mel (1982-03-06). "Obituary: Art Smith". www.925-1000.com. New Amsterdam News. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  7. ^ "Arthur Smith". Museum of Arts and Design Collection Database. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
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