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Art Smith, Modern Cuff, ca. 1948

Maeve Coudrelle
Photograph of a cuff bracelet with two curved metal surfaces, perforated by six thin lines
Collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, © Estate of Art Smith
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Photograph of a cuff bracelet with two curved metal surfaces, perforated by six thin lines

Art Smith, Modern Cuff, ca. 1948, copper and brass (alloy)

Collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, © Estate of Art Smith

Arthur George “Art” Smith (1917-1982) was an influential mid-century modernist jewelry designer. He created “wearable sculpture” that adorned the bodies of modern dancers and famous clients like Duke and Ruth Ellington. Influenced by Surrealism and African motifs, Smith’s silver, brass, and copper jewelry embrace their three-dimensionality, creating unique geometric shapes. Smith was highly attentive to how jewelry interacts with the human body, and often incorporated biomorphic shapes into his work – that is, shapes that recall living organisms. The undulating surface of Modern Cuff might suggest waves or rolling hills, pierced by curving lines. 

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.

Art Smith

Smith was Afro-Caribbean, born in Cuba to Jamaican parents and raised in New York City. He attended Cooper Union and later opened a store in Greenwich Village. He was situated in the bohemian downtown world of the New York avant-garde, particularly in the jazz music and dance scenes. 

More Object Details

Photograph of a cuff bracelet with two curved metal surfaces, perforated by six thin lines
Art Smith, Modern Cuff, ca. 1948. Alternate view. Credit: Collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, © Estate of Art Smith. See more.
Photograph of a cuff bracelet with two curved metal surfaces, perforated by six thin lines
Art Smith, Modern Cuff, ca. 1948. Alternate view. Credit: Collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, © Estate of Art Smith. See more.
Photograph of a cuff bracelet with two curved metal surfaces, perforated by six thin lines
Art Smith, Modern Cuff, ca. 1948. Alternate view. Credit: Collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, © Estate of Art Smith. See more.
Photograph of a detail of the bracelet, with Art Smith’s raised signature on the metal surface.
Art Smith, Modern Cuff, ca. 1948. Detail of signature. Credit: Collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, © Estate of Art Smith. See more

Sources

Harwood, Barry. From the Village to Vogue: The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith. New York: Brooklyn Museum, 2008.

Schreiber, Fran. “From the Village to Vogue: The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith.” Modern Silver Magazine, 2008.

Resource Links

The Brooklyn Museum exhibited From the Village to Vogue: The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith, May 14, 2008 – June 11, 2011.

Art Smith’s jewelry appears in NMAAHC publications, notably the Official Guide to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (2017).

Tags

Visual Arts