- Created by
- Smith, Art, American, 1917 - 1982
- Date
- ca. 1971
- Medium
- silver and glass
- Dimensions
- Archives: 7.8Feet (0.1Meters)
- H x W x D (Lady Day necklace): 7 1/16 × 4 1/8 × 1 3/16 in. (18 × 10.5 × 3 cm)
- Caption
- Like Smith’s ‘Baker’ Cuff was named in honor of Josephine Baker, this necklace has Billie Holiday, often called Lady Day, as its namesake. Smith did not have a habit of naming his individual pieces, but his partner, Charles Russell, designated names for many of the designs years after Smith’s death.
- Russell may have been inspired by Smith’s love of jazz and connections to Holiday when naming this piece. An abiding jazz aficionado, jazz was one of the inspirations for Smith’s work. He liked to attend live jazz performances in Harlem and collected record albums by his favorite artists. Smith began his career working as an apprentice to modernist jewelry designer, Winifred Mason Chenet, who counted Billie Holiday among her high profile clientele. Holiday wore pieces likely designed by Smith in a December 1946 Ebony magazine article about Mason and her work.
- Description
- A silver collar-style necklace composed of two separate semi-circular metal pieces conjoined by a metal connector clasp set with a marble of clear and gold glass. The connector clasp allows for the bottom semi-circular portion to move freely while the piece is worn.
- The artist has no mark engraved into this particular piece.
- Place made
- New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
- Collection title
- Art Smith Archive
- Classification
- Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design
- Type
- necklaces
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Charles L. Russell
- Object number
- A2018.110.1.3
- Restrictions & Rights
- © Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.