Lovers brooch
Sam Kramer
(American, 1913–1964)
Carol Kramer
(American, 1918–1986)
1949
Object PlaceNew York, New York
Medium/TechniqueSilver, turquoise, and garnet; hinged and riveted construction.
DimensionsOverall: 11.4 x 8.3 x 2.5 cm, 89.7 gm (4 1/2 x 3 1/4 x 1 in., 0.2 lb.)
Credit LineThe Daphne Farago Collection
Accession number2006.288
On View
Not on viewClassificationsJewelry / Adornment
DescriptionThe eccentric Sam Kramer billed himself as a maker of "Fantastic Jewelry for People Who are Slightly Mad." Dubbed a "Surrealist Jeweler" by The New Yorker magazine in 1942, Kramer maintained a Greenwich Village shop and studio that was a total artistic environment-as bizarre as his jewelry-and a gathering place for Village artists. His work, like the Lovers brooch, reflects the surrealist fascination with Freudian psychology and expressions of unconscious fantasy, with dark and sexually charged overtones.
Provenance1985, in the collection of Karen Sebiri. By 1988, Gansevoort Gallery; May 2, 1988 sold to Daphne Farago; 2006 to MFA, gift of Daphne Farago.
Copyright© Estate of Sam Kramer
