Bonhams Los Angeles will present on October 12 Wearable Art: Jewels from The Crawford Collection, featuring more than 300 pieces of wearable sculpture representing a cross-section of important and beautiful twentieth-century artist jewelry from more than 30 master makers including Pablo Picasso, Charles Loloma, Art Smith, Betty Cooke, William Spratling and many more.
A Modernist necklace by Art Smith (estimate $6,000–8000; The “Baker” Cuff by Art Smith (estimate: $7,000-9,000)
Image credit: Bonhams
These rare jewels were collected across the world over a lifetime by private collectors Byron and Jill Crawford who bought pieces they loved and assembled an array of highly sought after, museum-quality works, many of which have been featured in important books and exhibitions. The categories offered include jewelry by fine artists (Picasso, Max Ernst, Jean Arp), American Modernist jewelry (Art Smith, Betty Cooke, Sam Kramer), Scandinavian jewelry (Georg Jensen, Björn Weckström), Native American jewelry (Charles Loloma, Jesse Monongya), and Taxco jewelry (William Spratling, Antonio Pineda). Individually, this auction contains one of the largest private collections of Charles Loloma, Art Smith, Betty Cooke, William Spratling, and Margaret De Patta to be presented at auction.
Collector Jill Crawford said, “It has been my great passion and pleasure to own and wear the jewelry in my collection. I have spent a lifetime searching for the greatest examples by artists I admire. When I am wearing a great piece of jewelry, I feel connected to the artist, and I become part of the story a piece is telling. Jewelry is meant to be worn, and in the hands of a passionate collector it becomes transcendent.”
Head of Jewelry, Bonhams Los Angeles, Emily Waterfall said,“Working with The Crawford Collection has been a dream. These are some of the finest individual examples of jewelry work by Loloma, Spratling, Picasso, Betty Cooke, and others to ever come to auction. Taken individually they are exquisite and viewing the collection as a whole is a stunning look at one of the best private collections of artist jewelry in the world.”
William Spratling Sterling Silver (Helena Rubenstein) Necklace
Image credit: Bonhams
The catalogue includes essays by jewelry world luminaries Toni Greenbaum, Jeannine Falino, Levi Higgs, Lois Sherr Dubin, and others.
