Jewelry is often overlooked as a true art form. Midcentury modernist jewelry designer Arthur George “Art” Smith’s pieces are a combination of lyrical genius and craftsmanship that transform into art when worn. When Smith (1917–1982) was given a one-man show at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts (now the Museum of Arts and Design) in New York City in 1969, he was quoted in the catalog: “[The question is] not how do bracelets go, but what can be done with an arm?” “A piece of jewelry,” he wrote, “is in a sense an object that is not complete in itself. Jewelry is a ‘what is it?’ until you relate it to the body. The body is a component in design just as air and space are. Like line, form, and color, the body is a material to work with. It is one of the basic inspirations in creating form.”

Born in Cuba to Jamaican parents and raised in Brooklyn, Smith studied sculpture at the Cooper Union in 1940 (after dropping out of the architectural studies program). He went on to apprentice with Black jewelry designer Winifred Mason in Greenwich Village and eventually opened his own jewelry store on West 4th Street in 1946, where he remained in business until 1979. As an openly gay Black artist, he drew inspiration from African art, jazz, dance, and sculpture, building a loyal clientele that included artists and performers like Duke Ellington and Harry Belafonte.

Smith didn’t often use precious materials; instead, he usually worked in brass and copper. The Modern Cuff interacts with the wearer, the negative space that exposes the wearer’s skin becoming part of the design. The brass rods on the cuff reflect Smith’s interest in jazz, as the flattened ends recall the brass keys of a saxophone or trumpet. The cuff is made from a single cut and bent piece of copper, pierced and attached to brass wires that will cast the arm. Many of Smith’s pieces are in the permanent collections of museums like the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. However, some can be found on the secondary art market and in private collections. The bracelet featured here sold in 2023 for $20,160. Smith signed his work; often the signature can be found on the inside edge of a piece.