Bodyworks
The Jewelry of Art Smith
$100.08
- Hardcover
176 pages
- Release Date
3 November 2026
Summary
Explore the wearable modern art of Art Smith, one of the world’s most celebrated 20th-century jewelers
This striking jewelry coffee table book features 160 photos of more than 60 jewelry pieces
Mid-century modernist jeweler Art Smith (1917-1982) considered the human body to be as integral to his jewelry as the metals, wire, and semiprecious stones he used to make it, calling his necklaces “neck pieces” and his rings “hand decorations.” Bodyworks: The Jewelry of Art Smith
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781588348234 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1588348237 |
| Author: | Joanne Hyppolite, Toni Greenbaum |
| Publisher: | Smithsonian Books |
| Imprint: | Smithsonian Books |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 176 |
| Release Date: | 3 November 2026 |
| Weight: | 567g |
| Dimensions: | 203mm x 279mm |
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Critics Review
LIBRARY JOURNAL, STARRED REVIEW
”…lavish illustrations of Smith’s body-conscious pieces accompany text discussing his education and partnerships and encounters with artists from different genres and how the Harlem Renaissance and jazz music influenced his work…Readers will be moved by Smith’s pursuit of art education, saddened and enraged by the racism and violence he endured, and inspired by his jewelry, each a piece of art. VERDICT This exploration of history through the life of an artist is superb.”
FOREWORD REVIEWS
“The stark page layouts serve as virtual museum cases, while the copper background on incidental pages is apt for the metal art…The dynamic art book Bodyworks spotlights Art Smith’s statement jewelry and quiet countercultural life.”
Joanne Hyppolite
Joanne Hyppolite is the Assistant Director for Culture at The National Museum of African American History and Culture, the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. She is also the curator of the Cultural Expressions permanent exhibition, which showcases Art Smith’s work. Under her direction, the museum has acquired two major archival collections on Art Smith.
Toni Greenbaum is an art historian specializing in twentieth and twenty-first-century jewelry and metalwork. She has written extensively on modernist jewelry, including Messengers of Modernism: American Studio Jewelry 1940-1960, considered the standard text on the subject.
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