People We Love: Art Smith, Jewelry Designer
Arthur Smith, born in 1917 in Cuba, was the son of Jamaican immigrants. He moved to New York City when he was just three years old, and continued to live and work there until his death in 1982. From 1946 until 1979, he owned and operated his jewelry shop in Greenwich Village, where he was subject to racist and homophobic attacks due to the racial and political tension of the times. Nevertheless, many, including avant-garde dancers and jazz musicians, wore his art. His pieces are currently in the permanent collections at the Cooper Hewitt Museum, the Museum of Continue reading