Two sterling silver jewelry items, Art Smith Print Circa 1960, each signed ''Art Smith'' including an abstract bow brooch and a pair of cufflinks, the brooch measures 3 ?? L x 1? W and the cufflinks are 1 1/8? L x Note: African-American and gay civil rights pioneer Art Smith was one of the leading Modernist jewelers of the twentieth century and his profound influence on the craft jewelry movement in New York is still felt today. Raised in Brooklyn, Smith was a graduate from Cooper Union and later studied and worked with jeweler Winifred Mason until he opened his own Greenwich Village shop in 1946. Smith was influenced not only by not the fine arts but by jazz and modern dance as well. His primary objective was that his jewelry have a relationship with the human body. Art Smith once said of this relationship ?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.? (Schrieber, Fran. "Review: From the Village to Vogue, The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith". Modern Silver.) The pieces included in this lot incorporate air and space with curving lines and subtle depth of the sterling silver. From the intertwined flattened silver of the brooch to the dual planes of the cufflinks, the pieces emanate the elegance and movement of form for which Smith is known. Condition: The jewelry shows signs of good condition with some discoloration to silver.
Two sterling silver jewelry items, Art Smith Print Circa 1960, each signed ''Art Smith'' including an abstract bow brooch and a pair of cufflinks, the brooch measures 3 ?? L x 1? W and the cufflinks are 1 1/8? L x Note: African-American and gay civil rights pioneer Art Smith was one of the leading Modernist jewelers of the twentieth century and his profound influence on the craft jewelry movement in New York is still felt today. Raised in Brooklyn, Smith was a graduate from Cooper Union and later studied and worked with jeweler Winifred Mason until he opened his own Greenwich Village shop in 1946. Smith was influenced not only by not the fine arts but by jazz and modern dance as well. His primary objective was that his jewelry have a relationship with the human body. Art Smith once said of this relationship ?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.? (Schrieber, Fran. "Review: From the Village to Vogue, The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith". Modern Silver.) The pieces included in this lot incorporate air and space with curving lines and subtle depth of the sterling silver. From the intertwined flattened silver of the brooch to the dual planes of the cufflinks, the pieces emanate the elegance and movement of form for which Smith is known. Condition: The jewelry shows signs of good condition with some discoloration to silver.
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