Betty Cooke Explained

Betty Cooke
Birth Name:Catherine Elizabeth Cooke
Birth Date:5 May 1924
Birth Place:Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Movement:American Modernist
Known For:Jewelry design, metalwork

Catherine Elizabeth Cooke (May 5, 1924 – August 13, 2024) was an American designer principally known for her jewelry.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] She has been called "an icon within the tradition of modernist jewelry"[7] and "a seminal figure in American Modernist studio jewelry".[8] Her pieces have been shown nationally and internationally and are included in a number of museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York. She is regarded as an important role model for other artists and craftspeople.[9]

Biography

Cooke was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 5, 1924. She was an enthusiastic member of the Girl Scouts, attending Camp Whippoorwill.[10] Her lifelong friend, Dr. Miriam Shamer Daly, describes some childhood adventures with Cooke in her memoir, Doctor Miriam.[11]

Education

After taking art classes in high school, she went to the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), where she studied from 1942 to 1946.[12] She received a BFA in education, the only way to get an art degree there at that time.[7] [8] During her last year at the institute, she began to learn jewelry making as part of an apprenticeship, which started her on a career in jewelry design.[13]

Teaching career

After graduating from MICA in 1946, Cooke taught there for 22 years.[8] [12] In addition to teaching jewelry design, she developed a class in "Design and Materials" for furniture design with wood, metal, fabric, and leather. One of the students who took that class was artist Bill Steinmetz. They later began dating, and eventually married.[2] [14]

Design career

Early in her career, Cooke designed furniture and household articles as well handbags, belts and jewelry. Her first store-front was a small house on Tyson Street in Mount Vernon in Baltimore, where she lived.[2] In 1946, Cooke bought the old rowhouse for $3,000 and began to restore it.[4] She and her partner Bill Steinmetz restored it for use as a house and shop and established a design consultancy there.[4]

In 1955, Cooke and Bill Steinmetz were married. The couple worked together as designers "Cooke and Steinmetz". Their projects included a restaurant, many Fair Lanes bowling alleys, and a church.[2] Cooke explains her style as applying to large and small media: "I think in terms of jewelry, but jewelry is also sculpture that can be done on a large scale."

They later established The Store Ltd at the Village of Cross Keys in Baltimore in 1965.[15] [4]

Death

Cooke died on August 13, 2024, at the age of 100.[16]

Jewelry design

Although she is widely read in the areas of art and design, Betty Cooke is largely self-trained. Her jewelry style is influenced by Bauhaus and modernism. It is very simple and pure,[2] both geometric and minimalist.

Given her early aspiration to become a sculptor,[7] it may not be surprising that she thinks of her jewelry as "sculpture in motion". Wearing her jewelry has been compared to having a miniature Calder mobile around your neck.

Her pieces have been sold through museums such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Hirshhorn Museum and contemporary designers such as Keegs in Seattle, Washington. Cooke has designed jewelry for Kirk Stieff and for Geoffrey Beene's shows in New York and Milan.[2] [8]

Cooke's work is discussed in Modernist jewelry 1930–1960 : the wearable art movement,[17] Form & function : American modernist jewelry, 1940-1970,[18] and exhibition catalogs including Messengers of Modernism: American Studio Jewelry 1940-1960.[19]

Much of Cooke's work incorporates diamonds, gold, and pearls, and she has won awards for her diamond pieces in competitions sponsored by the De Beers Consolidated Mines, now the De Beers Group.[20] In her annual enumeration series, she has created an ongoing series of numeric-inspired pieces for patrons who wished to commemorate specific events in their lives by commissioning a piece.[21]

Selected exhibitions

Collections

Betty Cooke's work is found in museum collections, including:

Catalogues

Awards and honors

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Cooke. Betty. Design, Jewelry, Betty Cooke : June 2–25 1995. June 2–25, 1995. Maryland Institute College of Art; Meyerhoff Gallery. Baltimore, MD.
  2. Web site: Oral history interview with Betty Cooke, 2004 July 1–2. Archives of American Art. Smithsonian Archives of American Art. 15 August 2024.
  3. News: Sugarman. Joe. Town Jewel Betty Cooke's The Store Ltd just turned 50 years old. And at 90, she's not slowing down. 8 March 2016. Baltimore Magazine. 2015.
  4. News: Kelly. Jacques. Designers make lifelong impact on Baltimore's arts scene. 8 March 2016. The Baltimore Sun. February 6, 2015.
  5. Web site: A Visit with Betty Cooke Designer, Silversmith. Silver Salon Forums. SM Publications. September 2, 2006.
  6. Book: Kirkham. Pat. Women designers in the USA, 1900–2000 : diversity and difference : Jacqueline M. Atkins ... [et al.]]. 2000. Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts. New York. 9780300093315. 207. 8 March 2016.
  7. Schon. Marbeth. An interview with Betty Cooke. Modern Silver. June 13, 2001. March 6, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180602070518/http://www.modernsilver.com/BETTYCOOKE.htm. June 2, 2018. dead.
  8. Web site: Betty Cooke Biography – Short. Goya Contemporary. 11 September 2017.
  9. Wolf. Toni Lesser. Betty Cooke: Total Design in Jewelry. Metalsmith Magazine. 1989. Spring. 6 March 2018.
  10. News: Powder . Jackie . Badges of friendship S'more good times: 60 years later, a group of Girl Scouts reunites at Camp Whippoorwill . 15 April 2019 . The Baltimore Sun . October 1, 1995.
  11. Book: Daly . Miriam . Doctor Miriam . March 2022 . Executive Education, Inc. . Chelsea, Michigan . 9798433398535 . 29,32-35.
  12. Web site: Yager . Jan . Oral history interview with Betty Cooke, 2004 July 1–2. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian. July 1, 2004.
  13. News: Pathfinder in Jewelry. Wharton. Carol. December 4, 1979. The Baltimore Sun . 71.
  14. News: Kelly. Jacques. William Steinmetz, designer and Maryland Institute College of Art alumnus. 6 March 2018. The Baltimore Sun. November 25, 2016.
  15. News: Sugarman. Joe. Town Jewel. 9 September 2017. Baltimore Magazine. April 2015.
  16. Web site: Gunts . Ed . 2024-08-14 . Baltimore Fishbowl Betty Cooke, celebrated jewelry designer and esteemed Baltimorean, Dies at 100 - . 2024-08-15 . Baltimore Fishbowl . en-US.
  17. Book: Schon. Marbeth. Modernist jewelry 1930–1960 : the wearable art movement. 2004. Schiffer. Atglen, Pa.. 9780764320200.
  18. Book: Schon. Marbeth. Form & function : American modernist jewelry, 1940-1970. 2008. Schiffer. Atglen, PA. 9780764329760.
  19. Book: Greenbaum. Toni. Eidelberg. Martin. Messengers of Modernism : American studio jewelry 1940–1960. 1996 . Flammarian . Paris. 9782080135933. Catalogue for exhibition organized by the Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts, 1997.
  20. News: Designer finds a pot of gold and pebbles. Wise. Gabrielle. July 24, 1979. The Baltimore Sun . B3.
  21. News: Yager . Jan . Patrons who make history . 26 January 2020 . Art Jewelry Forum . 1998. 4.
  22. News: Wiegand. Kimber. Circles, Lines, and Good Designs: The Legacy of Betty Cooke. Art Jewelry Forum . November 22, 2021.
  23. Web site: Betty Cooke: Selections in Baltimore. Eventful. 6 March 2018.
  24. Shaykett. Jessica. Betty Cooke: Art + Work. American Craft Magazine. American Craft Council. September 19, 2011.
  25. News: May. Stephen. Betty Cooke: Modern Jewelry Pioneer. 8 March 2016. Antiques and the Arts Weekly. June 14, 2013.
  26. Web site: Ober. Cara. Conversations Podcast 1: Betty Cooke. BMoreArt. 16 September 2015 . 6 March 2018.
  27. News: Giuliano. Mike. Cooke's jewelry is a model of restraint. 6 March 2018. The Baltimore Sun. June 6, 1995.
  28. Web site: American Craft Council College of Fellows. American Craft Council. 10 February 2018.
  29. Web site: Donor-Funded Scholarships: A-C. www.mica.edu. 14 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20160818232420/https://www.mica.edu/Give_to_MICA/Scholarship_Support/List_of_Current_Scholarships/A-C.html. 18 August 2016. dead.

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