Half & Half
Artist: Art Smith (American, 1917-1982)
Date: about 1948
Dimensions:
W: 7 in. (17.8 cm); L: 7 1/2 in. (19.0 cm); Depth: 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm)
Medium: Brass
Classification: Metalwork
Credit Line: Charles R. Feldstein Fund and Museum Purchase
Object number: 1999.7
Label Text:Born in Cuba to Jamaican parents, Art Smith created bold, modernist jewelry from his studio and store in Greenwich Village in the 1940s through the 1970s. In the Village he associated with leading figures of Black culture, including James Baldwin, Lena Horne, and Harry Belafonte. Smith frequently used symbols from West African tribal jewelry as elements in his own pieces. The solid brass portion of this necklace, for example, resembles jewelry worn by members of the Asante court of Ghana. Smith’s elegant design with its curved forms emphasizes the relationship between body and ornament.
On view
In Collection(s)