Art Smith (1917–1982) was a pioneering Black Modernist jeweler whose bold, sculptural work transformed the relationship between jewelry and the body. Born in Cuba to Jamaican parents, raised in New York, and trained at Cooper Union, Smith opened his Greenwich Village jewelry business in the 1940s.
Duke Ellington gives this talk its title—and Art Smith gives it the bling. Jazz was part of the soundtrack of Smith’s creative life, playing on his radio and record player as he worked in his studio. Smith’s creative practice was steeped in Black performing arts traditions, including jazz and modern dance. He also designed cufflinks for Ellington and jewelry for dancers such as Pearl Primus and Talley Beatty.
Join authors Joanne Hyppolite and Toni Greenbaum for an illustrated presentation exploring Smith’s life, creative practice, and influence. Drawing on archival discoveries, photographs, sketches, and surviving jewelry, they will discuss his approach to designing for the body and situate his work within mid-century New York.
Joanne Hyppolite is Assistant Director of Culture and curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Toni Greenbaum is an independent art historian specializing in twentieth- and twenty-first-century jewelry and metalwork and author of Messengers of Modernism: American Studio Jewelry 1940-1960 and Sam Kramer: Jeweler on the Edge.
Their book, Bodyworks: The Jewelry of Art Smith (Smithsonian Books, October 6, 2026), is the first major scholarly study devoted to Smith’s life, work, and legacy.
A book signing will follow the presentation.
smithsonianbooks.com