Byron August Wilson Explained

Byron Wilson
Birth Date:July 6, 1918
Birth Place:Alameda, California, U.S.
Death Date:June 15, 1992
Death Place:Duncans Mills, California, U.S.
Field:Jewelry, metalworking

Byron August Wilson (1918–1992) was an American mid-20th century artist and educator, known for his jewelry design.

Life

Wilson was born in Alameda, California.[1] Although self-taught,[2] he gained recognition for his jewelry design and art during the California studio jewelry movement in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.

In 1951, Wilson was one of the founding member of the Metal Arts Guild of San Francisco.[3] [4] Margaret De Patta, another founding member, had an influence on his work.[5] In 1956, the California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC) hired him to teach in the metal arts department, where he worked for 26 years. With the help of students, he established CCAC's first metal foundry.[6] During this period, he also worked as a claims inspector for the Southern Pacific Railroad.

Wilson's art incorporated geometric shapes formed from materials such as ebony wood and ivory.[7] [8] He also made use of unconventional casting methods to create his metal pieces.

In 1981, Byron Wilson filed a patent for an improved type of flap sander (pat. no. 4,365,448).[9] The tool consisted of a slotted cylinder and cover plate that held replaceable strips of sandpaper.Byron Wilson died in 1992.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has an extensive collection of Byron Wilson's pieces.[10]

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (MFA) has one example of Wilson's work in their collection.[11]

Honors and awards

Selected exhibitions

Notes and References

  1. Book: Crafting Modernism: Midcentury American Art and Design. Scanlan. Jennifer. Abrams. 2011. 978-0-8109-8480-6. New York, NY. 318. Felino. Jeannine.
  2. Book: Tigerman . Munro Miller . Simkowitz . Steinberger . Bobbye . Jennifer . Lacy . Staci . 2013 . A Handbook of California Design, 1930–1965: Craftspeople, Designers, Manufacturers . Los Angeles, CA; Cambridge, MA . Los Angeles County Museum of Art, MIT Press . 294 . 978-0-262-51838-3.
  3. Book: Lauria . Jo . California design : the legacy of the West Coast craft and style . Baizerman . Suzanne . 2005 . Chronicle Books . 978-0811843744 . San Francisco, Calif. . 6 October 2022.
  4. News: 1957-12-05 . College Exhibits Rare Ornaments . 29 . Redwood City Tribune . 2022-10-07.
  5. Book: L'Ecuyer, Kelly H. . Jewelry by Artists: In the Studio, 1940–2000 . MFA Publications . 2010 . 978-0-87846-750-1 . Boston, MA . 70–73.
  6. Lesser Wolf. Toni. 1992. The Gadget Man. Metalsmith (Quarterly). 34–37.
  7. Book: California Design, 1930–1965: Living in a Modern Way. limited. Tigerman. Bobbye. 2011. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, MIT Press. 978-0-262-01607-0. Los Angeles, CA; Cambridge, MA. 341. Kaplan. Wendy.
  8. Book: Untracht, Oppi. Metal Techniques for Craftsmen. Doubleday & Company, Inc.. 1968. 0-385-03027-4. Garden City, NY. 220.
  9. Web site: United States Patent: 4365448. Wilson. Byron. December 28, 1982. United States Patent Office. https://web.archive.org/web/20190629044950/http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=4365448.PN.&OS=PN%2F4365448&RS=PN%2F4365448. June 29, 2019. dead. March 17, 2017. mdy-all.
  10. Web site: Site LACMA Collections. collections.lacma.org. en. 2017-03-27.
  11. Web site: Site MFA Collections. 2017-05-24.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Byron August Wilson".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.