See more objects with the tag biomorphic, mixed metals, bent wire, flattened.

Object Timeline

1949

  • Work on this object began.

2016

2017

2024

  • You found it!

Angular Brooch

This is a brooch. It was designed by Art Smith. It is dated Designed 1949, thisexample probably after 1949 and we acquired it in 2016. Its medium is bent and flattened brass and copper wire. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

One of the few African Americans creating jewelry in the 1940s and 50s, Art Smith was drawn to making “wearable art.” He took inspiration from modern sculpture, dance, and jazz. This brooch demonstrates Smith’s ingenuity as a metalsmith and designer. Peaked at the top, the brooch easily transforms into a pendant by adding a small bail.

This object was donated by Susan Lewin. It is credited The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

  • Pendant (USA)
  • silver, amethyst quartz.
  • Bequest of Merle Sternberg.
  • 2014-16-2-c

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 8.5 × 8.7 × 1.5 cm (3 7/8 × 3 1/4 × 1/4 in.)

It has the following markings

On reverse, lower right - Signature "Art Smith"

Cite this object as

Angular Brooch; Designed by Art Smith (American, 1917–1982); bent and flattened brass and copper wire; H x W x D: 8.5 × 8.7 × 1.5 cm (3 7/8 × 3 1/4 × 1/4 in.); The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; 2016-34-104

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Jewelry of Ideas: Gifts from the Susan Grant Lewin Collection.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

For higher resolution or commercial use contact ArtResource.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/874387543/ |title=Angular Brooch |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=23 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>