A Rare Brass Wire Necklace by Alexander Calder Circa 1932
Biography: Born into a family of artists in Pennsylvania in 1898, Alexander Calder eventually became one of the greatest American sculptors, known for a variety of mediums including mobiles (which he is credited with inventing), colorful paintings, and wire jewelry. jewelry. Calder earned a degree in mechanical engineering before his sculpture and performance art piece Cirque Calder (1926) lead to acclaim from critics and peers alike. Throughout his life he created more than 1,800 fantastic pieces of jewelry by hand. He died in 1976. Significance: Made by folding, twisting, hammering, and coiling lengths of brass wire, Alexander Calder created this necklace of protruding cones in 1932, a diminutive version of his wellknown, monumental sculptures. As is characteristic of Calder’s Calder ’s work, it is linear in the way it drapes long over the neck of the wearer, but three-dimensional in that each individual coil extends outward, creating depth. Much like Calder’s mobiles, this piece assumes a distinct form from each vantage it is observed. Calder imparted the wearer of his jewelry a great significance. "When a mobile by Alexander Calder is seen packed in a crate, it is a flat, lifeless object," notes curator Mark Rosenthal. "Picked up by its highest element, all of the components take their assigned positions, and the mobile will become animated, three-dimensional, and imbued with motion. A necklace by Calder lives in the same way - inside and outside a crate. The only real difference between the two is that the structure of the mobile, with its rigid metal spokes, creates the breadth of the work of art, whereas the necklace usually depends on the body of the wearer to expand from a static state to fullness. Both works are of a piece and cut from the same cloth of activity." The metalwork from numerous ancient cultures significantly influenced Calder’s brass creations. Calder was avid collector of primitive art throughout his life. In 1931, the Exposition Exposition Coloniale Coloniale Interna International tionalee took place in Paris, in an effort to showcase the rich cultural history of France’s colonial empire, especially in Africa. The inspiration he drew from works presented at the exhibition are demonstrated by this necklace, whose coiling cones with gently sloping curves recall the pagodas of coastal West West Africa. Calder created much of his jewelry as gifts for loved ones; this necklace was made by Calder for Silvia Luzzatto, the wife of Parisian art dealer and gallery owner Pierre Loeb. After the first World War, War, Loeb became close friends with Pablo Picasso, and in the years y ears that followed, he promoted Surrealist artists, exhibiting the works of Joan Miró, Max Ernst, Paul Klee, Jean Arp, and Victor Brauner. Although Calder was reluctant to associate himself with any particular movement, he was very active in the Paris art world during this time, and found harmony in the company of Pierre Loeb and the artists he supported. Loeb married Silvia in 1928, and a few years later, Calder gave Silvia this necklace. She was struck by the contrast between Calder’s imposing stature and the light, ethereal nature of his creations; she compared his jewelry to the way in which Calder was surprisingly light on his feet and very graceful when he danced with her.
A Rare Hammered Silver Wire Necklace by Alexander Calder Circa 1940
Biography: Born into a family of artists in Pennsylvania in 1898, Alexander Calder
eventually became one of the greatest American American sculptors, known for a variety of mediums including mobiles (which he is credited with inventing), brightly colored prints, and wire jewelry jewelry.. Calder earned a degree in in mechanical engineering engineering before creating toys and the Cirque Calder in 1926. These artistic creations led to exhibitions of his wire sculptures. Throughout his life he created more than 1,800 fantastic pieces of jewelry by hand. He died in 1976. Significance: In 1943, when he was just forty-five, Calder was the youngest artist ever to receive a retrospective of his work at the Museum of Modern Art. The MoMA chose this necklace to exhibit in the retrospective on Calder, heralding it as a masterpiece of modern art. The necklace is a silver version of the first gold piece of jewelry Calder ever made, which belonged to his wife Louisa. It’s likely that this silver rendition was its prototype, and very well may have originally belonged to Louisa as well. Calder made jewelry for his wife that she was known to wear daily. Their courtship began after he sent Louisa a bracelet of hammered wire spelling out “Medusa” (Calder’s sobriquet for her) following an encounter aboard a ship. Made in 1940, this work embodies Calder’s singular aesthetic. With its coiling spokes of hammered silver, it creates motion in a way that only Calder could achieve. Elisabeth Agro, curator of the blockbuster Calder Jewelry exhibition said of his jewelry: “Space. It’s about occupying space. And And he just sees the body as a grounding element for this other aspect of his work. Not that the body gets in the way — the body is one part of this larger work of art, when you put it on.” Calder personally collected art and objects from African, Oceanic, and preColombian cultures; his jewelry has more in common with the body adornments of ancient tribes than with the quintessential gem wear of Western Western Europe, or the sleek symmetry of Art Deco. This influence can be seen in the spiral motif of this necklace. Calder famously refused to subscribe to, or associate himself with, any certain art movement, and his jewelry was no exception; his style belongs to only him, making pieces like this instantly recognizable.
An 18K Gold, Sapphire, Emerald, Ruby, & Diamond Bracelet by Seaman Schepps Circa 1940
This bracelet, made by Seaman Schepps in 1940 for Emily Hall Tremaine, is an example of the best work from “America’s Court Jeweler.” The aesthetic of Seaman Schepps is as quintessentially American as his story. He was born to a poor Jewish family in 1881 on New York’s Lower East Side, and achieved success as a dealer in California before returning to New York and setting s etting up shop on Madison Avenue. Avenue. As great jewelers often do, Schepps transformed ordinary materials into something more spectacular. While European jewelry houses were relying on only the highest quality stones, Seaman Schepps’s jewelry emphasized the design of the finished piece rather than focusing on preconceived notions about the intrinsic value of the materials. Although he did use diamonds and precious stones in his designs, he often mixed them with semi-precious stones and materials such as wood and shell. In the 1920’s, Schepps made frequent trips to Paris, where his wife and children were living. He was excited by the unconventional, sporty look presented by Coco Chanel. He found inspiration in the Orientalist décor of the Ballets Russes; in the galleries, he was thrilled by the joyful joyful colors colors of Matisse Matisse painting paintings, s, and the whimsica whimsicall works works of Picasso. Picasso. Indeed, Indeed, his jewelry jewelry came to resemble a colorful Dadaist assemblage. In Depression-era New York, York, this sensibility behooved him. Wealthy, Wealthy, fashionable women were already outfitted with the requisite diamonds, and were looking less for a hefty investment than for something unique to wear, perhaps something less ostentatious to agree with the austerity of the times. In his colorful jewelry, Schepps combined cabochon rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, with smaller diamonds, in what became his interpretation of the “Tutti Frutti” jewelry Cartier made famous in the 1920’s. “Instead of massing the stones around an undulating diamond branch, with leaves and berries in engraved colored gemstones, he placed cabochon rubies, sapphires, and emeralds, within a free-flowing diamond framework,” writes Janet Zapata. This bracelet, made for Emily Hall Tremaine, does just that. A prominent customer of Seaman Schepps, Ms. Tremaine was known for having assembled one of the preeminent American holdings of Twentieth Century art, and served as one of the early members of the International Council of the Museum of Modern Art. The architect Philip Johnson, a close friend of Emily Tremaine, marveled at the “original eye” she possessed. "She had tunnel vision. It was art. That was her universe." She and her husband Burton began collecting work by European avant-garde artists, including Picasso, Klee, and Braque, and later became some of the first buyers of American Pop Art. The scope of their collection communicates the Tremaines’ close close engagement with the emerging art scene domestically and overseas.They maintained friendships with artists whose work they admired, including Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol. Warhol. Tremaine wrote that she was enchanted by Pop art’s reflection of “the wonderful, vulgar, jazzy, free and crazy New York.” Surely she was drawn to the same multicolored, unapologetic vivacity reminiscent of New York York City in the work of Seaman S eaman Schepps.
H O L I D AY 2 01 016 C O L L E C T I O N
THE STEPHEN RUSSELL HOLIDAY 2016 LOOKBOOK draws on the approach of artists whose works seem modern today, such as Suzanne Belperron (page 15) and Alexander Calder (page 4-5). From the craftsmanship to the effortless style, the attention to detail is resonant. This perspective inspires the original creations from the Stephen Russell collection, like the tri-sapphire ring on page 28. These pieces, old and new alike, can be combined effortlessly with one another another,, and with what already lives in your jewel box.
AN TI TIQU QUE E & VI NTAG E Stephen Russell’s Antique & Vintage collection represents the finest examples of jewels from a range of design era s, most notably Victorian, Edwardian, Art Deco, and Retro, especially from influential houses of the time. Th ese timeless jewels continue to influence and inspire design toda y.
This is jewelry that is wearable, timeless, and collectible.
RARE JEWELRY BY ALEXANDER CALDER 1898 -1976
RARE JEWELRY BY ALEXANDER CALDER 1898 -1976
A GOLD AND SAPPHIRE SERPANT BRACELET by Fontana Fréres; circa 1885
A GOLD AND SAPPHIRE SERPANT BRACELET by Fontana Fréres; circa 1885
DIAMOND, PLATINUM, AND GOLD “TOURBILLON” RING by Suzanne Belperron; circa 1942
A PLATINUM AND DIAMOND BAZU BAND BRACELET by Cartier, Paris; circa 1920 AMAZONITE, ROCK CRYST CRYSTAL, AL, AND DIAMOND BRACELET by Marzo, Paris; circa 1925 PLATINUM AND DIAMOND ART DECO BRACELET by Boucheron, Paris; circa 1930
A PLATINUM AND DIAMOND BAZU BAND BRACELET by Cartier, Paris; circa 1920 AMAZONITE, ROCK CRYST CRYSTAL, AL, AND DIAMOND BRACELET by Marzo, Paris; circa 1925 PLATINUM AND DIAMOND ART DECO BRACELET by Boucheron, Paris; circa 1930
1940’S GOLD TANK BRACELETS circa 1940
1940’S GOLD TANK BRACELETS circa 1940
IBERIAN DIAMOND GIRANDOLE EARRINGS circa 1780
IBERIAN DIAMOND GIRANDOLE EARRINGS circa 1780
EDWARDIAN PLATINUM PLATINUM AND DIA MOND PENDANT circa 1910
Vogue Paris, April 1936
AN EXTRAORDINARY DIAMOND “FEUILLE” BRACELET by Suzanne Belperron; circa 1936
VICTORIAN DIAMOND NECKLACE AND EARRINGS circa 1850
VICTORIAN DIAMOND NECKLACE AND EARRINGS circa 1850
DIAMOND AND PLATINUM RIBBON EAR CLIPS French; circa 1930
DIAMOND AND PLATINUM RIBBON EAR CLIPS French; circa 1930
A RUBY AND DIAMOND HARLEQUIN RING by Cartier, Paris; circa 1955
AN EXCEPTIONAL RUBY AND DIAMOND NECKLACE by Suzanne Belperron; circa 1938
PLATINUM, DIAMOND, AND BURMA RUBY BRACELET circa 1930
PLATINUM, DIAMOND, AND BURMA RUBY BRACELET circa 1930
PLATINUM, DIAMOND, AND SAPPHIRE RING by Suzanne Belperron; circa 1947
COLLECTION The Stephen Russell Collection features exquisite jewels that combine timeless designs with exceptional gemstones. Designed in-house, the collection maintains the same tradition of timeless design and inpeccable craftmanship that is found in the jewels that comprise the Stephen Russell Antique & Vintage collection. The collection that results is wearable, fashionable and, ultimately, collectible.
COLLECTION The Stephen Russell Collection features exquisite jewels that combine timeless designs with exceptional gemstones. Designed in-house, the collection maintains the same tradition of timeless design and inpeccable craftmanship that is found in the jewels that comprise the Stephen Russell Antique & Vintage collection. The collection that results is wearable, fashionable and, ultimately, collectible.
RUBY AND DIAMOND “I LOVE YOU” BANDS from the Stephen Russell Collection
RUBY AND DIAMOND “I LOVE YOU” BANDS from the Stephen Russell Collection
A MAGNIFICENT PAIR OF PIGEON-BLOOD BURMA RUBY AND GOLCONDA DIAMOND EARRINGS from the Stephen Russell Collection
ROSE GOLD AND LOZENGE-CUT DIAMOND RING from the Stephen Russell Collection
ROSE GOLD AND LOZENGE-CUT DIAMOND RING from the Stephen Russell Collection
PLATINUM RING FE ATURING THREE CUSHION-CUT SAPPHIRES from the Stephen Russell Collection
ROSE GOLD AND DIAMOND CUFF from the Stephen Russell Collection
ROSE GOLD AND DIAMOND CUFF from the Stephen Russell Collection
SAPPHIRE AND BLACKENED-GOLD EARRINGS from the Stephen Russell Collection
DIAMOND, NATURAL PEAR, AND SPINEL CHAINS from the Stephen Russell Collection
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