Details

Title

Modern Cuff

Artist/Maker

Arthur "Art" Smith (American, 1917-1982), designer and maker

Date

ca. 1948

Medium

Sterling silver

Dimensions

1 5/8 x 2 1/2 x 4 inches

Credit

Purchase with funds from the Decorative Arts Acquisition Endowment

Accession #

2015.184

On View

On View - Wieland Pavilion, Skyway, Gallery 421

Modern Cuff by one of America’s foremost Studio Craft jewelers Art Smith utilizes a compelling combination of modernist and primitive influences, usage of negative space, dynamic scale, and strong linearity. Smith typically avoided expensive materials traditionally used in jewelry-making in favor of lesser materials, such as copper, brass, and aluminum; this piece made of sterling silver is a rarity. Jewelers saw Studio Craft as a broader movement to promote artistic handcraft as an alternative way of making things in the machine age. The early modernist jewelry designers created vibrant and fresh pieces where form, workmanship, and aesthetic ideals were more important than intrinsic materials.

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