Half & Half

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Half & Half

Artist Art Smith (American, 1917-1982)

Dateabout 1948

DimensionsW: 7 in. (17.8 cm); L: 7 1/2 in. (19.0 cm); Depth: 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm)

MediumBrass

ClassificationJewelry

Credit LineCharles R. Feldstein Fund and Museum Purchase

Object number

1999.7

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 34, Jewelry Gallery

Label TextBorn 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.Published Referencescf. Lieske, Chloe, "'Swonderful, 'Smarvelous Smith: The Be-bop Jewelry of Art Smith," MODERN MAGAZINE, vol. 1, no. 2, Fall 2009, pp. 82-87.