Masterpieces of French Jewelry - Hardcover

Masterpieces of French Jewelry is a delightful testament to the power of jewelry-like all true art-to mirror changes in America’s evolving social milieu. It offers an enchanting lens through which to view America’s rise from frontier nation to an industrial superpower, with a new moneyed class hungry for recognition and status. French jewelry provided that and more. This sumptuously-designed full color book-the first and only one on this subject-features over 80 photographs of the most remarkable pieces that found their way into prominent American collections. It also showcases a brilliant array of styles. There are chapters devoted to jewelry characteristic of the Art Nouveau period, along with Art Deco, the Victorian Era, 1940s retro, and the 1960s through more contemporary styles. An added bonus: one-of-a-kind jewelry creations from notable artists such as Man Ray, Pablo Picasso, Matta, and Arman. The publication of Masterpieces of French Jewelry coincides with the National Jewelry Institute’s exhibition, "Masterpieces of French Jewelry from Twentieth-Century American Collections," which will begin at The Forbes Galleries in New York in September 2006.

Judith Price is the president of the National Jewelry Institute, a highly-regarded non-profit organization established to create and support exhibitions of the most important jewelry of the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The institute, located on Fifth Avenue, New York, also endorses the education of those studying the jewelry trade in order to perpetuate and maintain the integrity of artistic tradition. Ms Price is the founder of Avenue magazine, and the author of Masterpieces of American Jewelry. She lives in New York City.