Art Smith

Arthur Smith (1917-1982)

Born in Cuba to Jamaican immigrants, Arthur Smith’s career as a studio jeweler began in Brooklyn and developed in Greenwich Village. After studying at the Cooper Union and working with Winifred Mason, Smith opened his first shop in 1946, working primarily in brass, copper and silver. Emphasizing balance, motion and harmony with the body, Smith’s biomorphic and surreal pieces grew in popularity, highlighted by Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and The New Yorker coverage in the 1950s.

Important Source Material

Smith, Arthur, Camille Billops and Jamaica Arts Center. Arthur Smith: A Jeweler’s Retrospective. Jamaica Arts Center, New York, 1990.

Arthur Smith Collection and Papers, 1948-1997, Hatch-Billops Collection, Inc. New York: NY. (Now in the process of being accessioned by Emory University).

JEN