Modern Cuff
Decorative Arts and Design

Modern Cuff
Artwork Details
Artist/Maker
Arthur "Art" Smith (American, 1917-1982), designer and maker
Date
ca. 1948
Medium
Sterling silver
Accession #
2015.184
Dimensions
1 5/8 x 2 1/2 x 4 inches
Location
On View - Wieland Pavilion, Skyway, Gallery 421
Description
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.