Douglas Donaldson (1882 – 1972) was an American metalworker. He was born in Detroit and professionally active in Los Angeles. He was one of the most influential proponents of the Arts and Crafts movement in Los Angeles.
Biography
Donaldson taught design, metalwork and jewellery at numerous schools in and near Los Angeles, including his first position, director of manual arts, That roop Polytechnic (succeeded by Rudolph Schaeffer). Subsequently, he was a teacher at the new Chouinard School of Art and head of the art department, at Los Angeles Manual Arts High School. After teaching at Otis Art Institute, he established his School of Decorative Design, in Hollywood, California, in the 1920s.
Collaboration with Wife
Donaldson and his Wife, Louise Donalson, were appointed to select applied arts entries for the Southern California section of the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego. Donaldon’s gold-medal-winning entry for the fair was a covered chalice distinguished by elaborate repoussé and enamel work and crowned by a delicate opal finial carved in the shape of a bird.
He established a decorative arts guild with his wife, showing distinctive crafts gathered nationwide. In 1925, he was elected first vice-president of Southern California’s newly organized Arts and Crafts Society. He was associated with Arts and Crafts movement artisans, including Ernest Batchelder, James Winn, Ralph Johonnot, and Rudolph Schaeffer; he emphasized to his students that ‘the conception of beautiful ideas must lead the way — the technical processes simply being the words which compose the language of art.’
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing. https://amzn.to/3ElmSlL
Trapp, K. R., Bowman, L. G., Oakland Museum., Renwick Gallery., & Cincinnati Art Museum. (1993). The arts and crafts movement in California: Living the good life. Oakland, Calif: Oakland Museum.
Design Store
Books| Arts and Crafts
Treasury of Art Nouveau Design & Ornament (Dover Pictorial Archive)
Cats in Art: 16 Art Stickers (Dover Art Stickers)
Making Authentic Craftsman Furniture: Instructions and Plans for 62 Projects (Dover Woodworking)
Vintage Song Sheet Covers CD-ROM and Book (Dover Electronic Clip Art)
Old-Time Cigar Labels in Full Color (Dover Pictorial Archive)
Craftsman Homes: Architecture and Furnishings of the American Arts and Crafts Movement
Art Nouveau Floral Patterns and Stencil Designs in Full Color (Dover Pictorial Archive)
Old-Time Cherubs Stickers (Dover Stickers)
More Metalworkers
-
Edward Spenser (1872 – 1938) British metalworker
Edward Spenser (1872 – 1938) was a British metalworker, silversmith, and jeweller. He was professionally active in London. Spencer was a junior designer at the Artificers’ Guild. When Montague Fordham took over the Guild in 1903, Spenser became chief designer. Read More →
-
Paul Haustein (1880 – 1944), German Decorative Arts Designer
Paul Haustein (1880–1944) was a German enamelist, metalworker, ceramicist, furniture designer, and graphic designer. He was active in Darmstadt andRead More →
-
Wiwen Nilsson (1897 – 1974) Swedish Silver Designer
He was trained in the workshop of his father Anders Nilsson. He studied at the Konigliche Preussische Zeichenakademie, Hanau (Germany), and in the Paris studio of Georg Jensen while at the Académie de la Grande Chaumiere and Académie Colarossi.Read More →
-
Arne Petersen (1922 – 2002) Danish Metalworker
At the Copenhagen firm C.C. Herman, Petersen learnt silver and goldsmithing methods. He joined the Georg Jensen Solvsmedie in 1948 and worked in the hollow-ware department until 1976. His 1975 Bottle Opener, made of stainless steel soldered with brass, received a lot of attention. Read More →
-
Alessandro Mazzucotelli (1865–1938), Italian metalsmith
Alessandro Mazzucotelli (1865-1938) was an Italian metalsmith known for his exceptional craftsmanship and innovative designs. He blended traditional techniques with modern sensibilities, creating intricate details and bold geometric shapes that were ahead of their time. Despite his success, he remained humble and dedicated to his craft until he died in 1938. His legacy lives on…
-
Sigurd Persson (1914 – 2003) Swedish metalworker & glassware designer
Sigurd Persson (1914–2003) was a Swedish sculptor, blacksmith, and professor who is regarded as one of the twentieth century’s most influential Swedish designers. Growing up in a goldsmith family, Persson founded his studio in Stockholm in 1942. Throughout his long career, he crafted objects in various materials ranging from metal to glass to plastic. Read…
-
Raymond Subes (1893 – 1970), French metalsmith
Raymond Subes (1893–1970) was a French metalsmith. He made ironwork for the oceanliners 1931 Atlantique, 1926 Ile-de-France, Pasteur, and 1935 Normandie. After World War II, he worked as a metalworker and became the head of Borderel et Robert.Read More →
-
Douglas Donaldson (1882 – 1972) American Metalworker
Donaldson taught design, metalwork and jewellery at numerous schools in and near Los Angeles, including his first position, director of manual arts, Throop Polytechnic (succeeded by Rudolph Schaeffer). Subsequently, he was a teacher at the new Chouinard School of Art and head of the art department, Los Angeles Manual Arts High School. Read More →
-
Discovering the Wonders of Metalsmiths Around the World
A metalsmith is an artisan who creates useful objects from diverse metals. It entails shaping metal with a hammer, refining metals from their ores, casting it into various forms, and filing it to the desired dimensions. Smith and related surnames are typical occupational surnames. Read More →
-
Jacob Prytz (1886 – 1962) Norwegian metalworker and designer
Jacob Prytz (1886 – 1962) was a metalworker and designer from Norway. He was born and raised in Oslo, where he also worked.Read More →
-
Carl Cristian Fjeringstad (1891 – 1968)
Carl Christian Fjerdingstad was a Norwegian designer born in Kristiansand and active in Blaricum (Norway), the Netherlands, and Paris. Carl Christian Fjerdingstad worked as a designer for Orfèvrerie Christofle in Paris and a silversmith for Henry van de Velde. His work combined French designs with the hammered surfaces and round shapes of Danish silverware.Read More…
-
Henri Navarre (1885 – 1970) French Metalworker
Henri Navarre was a French sculptor, architect, silversmith, and glassmaker who was influenced by Maurice Marinot and exhibited his work at Galerie Edgar Brandt and Maison Geo Rouard.Read More →
-
Why was Edgar Brandt a leader in the field of ironwork?
Egdar Brandt was a French metalworker known for his innovative designs that incorporated traditional and modern techniques, and his work can be found in many public and private collections.Read More →
-
Bertel Gardberg (1916 – 2007) Finnish Jeweller and Metalworker
Bertel Gardberg was a Finnish jeweller and metal worker. Between 1938-1941 he studied at Taideteollin Korkeaukoulu, Helsinki. He began his working life in Copenhagen. Gardberg moved to Helsinki where he maintained a studio between 1949-1966. He was responsible for stainless steel and silver designs produced by the Georg Jensen Solvsmedie; Galeries Lafayette department store, Paris…
-
Achievement – Heraldic Term – Dictionary of Silverware
Achievement is a symbol that only belongs to one family, and can be engraved or enamelled to establish provenance and date.Read More →
-
Julius Olaf Randahl (1880 – 1972) Swedish silversmith
In 1901, he moved to New York and worked for Tiffany and Gorham Manufacturing. In 1907, he worked at the Kalo Shop in Chicago before opening his own Randahl Shop in Park Ridge, Illinois, in 1911.Read More →
-
Harry Bertoia (1915 – 1978) Italian sculptor, furniture designer
Harry Bertoia was a sculptor, printmaker, jeweller, and furniture designer. He was born in San Lorenzo, Udine, and worked in the United States professionally. During World War Two he worked with Ray and Charles Eames on moulded-plywood technology. He worked primarily as a sculptor from the mid-1950s onwards. His sculpture was prominently featured in many…
-
Friedrich Adler (1878 – 1942), German sculptor and designer
First designer to work with bakelite Friedrich Adler (1878 – 1942) was a German designer, educator, and artist. He was well-known for his work in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco genres of metals design. He was also the first to employ bakelite in his designs. He created his designs with a wide range of…
-
Carl J. Jucker (1902 – 1997) Swiss metalworker
Carl J.Jucker was a metal worker from Switzerland. He studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule, Zürich, from 1918-1922. He studied under Muche between 1922 and 1923. He studied at Bauhaus with Christian Dell, Paul Klee and László Moholy-Nagy.Read More →
-
Georg Arthur Jensen silverware designer and manufacturer
Georg Jensen was a Danish metalworker. He was born in Faavad. He was apprenticed as a goldsmith. cl895-1901, he studied sculpture, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi, Copenhagen. Read More →
-
David Mellor (1930 – 2009) British metalworker and manufacturer
Mellor specialised in metalwork, especially cutlery, and was regarded as one of Britain’s most well-known designers. He also built bus shelters and the traffic light system that is currently in operation throughout the United Kingdom, British Crown Dependencies, and British Overseas Territories.Read More →
-
Alma Eikerman (1908 – 1995) American jewellery designer and silversmith
Alma Eikerman (1908 – 1995) was an American jewellery designer and silversmith. Eikerman was born in Pratt, Kansas, and graduated from Kansas State College in Emporia with a B.Sc. in 1934 and an M.Sc. in 1942. Read More →
-
Christian Dell (1893 – 1974) German metalworker designer
Christian Dell (1893–1974) was a German silversmith. Dell was born in Hesse’s Offenbach am Main. In the 1920s, Dell ran the metal workshop at the Bauhaus University, and his designs are, in line with the Bauhaus style, characterised by modern shapes and functionality. After his successful stint as an industrial designer, Dell returned in the…
-
Jean Dunand (1877 – 1942) 🇨🇭 Swiss sculptor, metalworker, artisan
Jean Dunand is a Swiss sculptor, metalworker, and artisan. He was born in 1877 in La Chaux-de-Fonds and died on the 27th of December 1942.Read More →
-
Flemming Eskildsen (b.1930) Danish designer and Silversmith
In 1958 Eskildsen joined the Georg Jensen design department making designs for flatware, jewellery and hollowware. He became the foreman of the design department in 1962.Read More →
-
Fred G. Minuth (1884 – 1966) American Silversmith
Fred G. Minuth was an American Silversmith. He was professionally active in Chicago.Read More →
-
Erna Zarges-Dürr (1907-2002) – German silversmith
Erna Zarges-Dürr (1907-2002) was a German silversmith. She was professionally active Pforzheim, Leipzig, Berlin. and Stuttgart. Between 1924-27, she trained at Bruckmann und Söhne, Heilbronn, as the first women in the silversmiths’ department. From 1927, she studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule, Pforzheim, under Theodor Wende and others. Read More →
-
Jan and Joel Martel (1896 – 1966) twin brothers and French sculptors
Jan and Joel Martel (1896 – 1966) were twin brothers and French sculptors. They were born in Nantes and active in Paris. Cement, glass, steel, mirrors, ceramics, lacquers, and synthetics were all used in their projects.Read More →
-
Arno Malinowki (1899 – 1976) Danish sculptor and metalworker
His jewellery designs of a kneeling deer, a dolphin in the rushes, and butterflies on a flower, which he created in 1937, were produced for many years. In 1940, he created the ‘Kingmark’ to commemorate King Christian’s seventieth birthday. It was mass-produced and worn by Danes to demonstrate their allegiance to Denmark and opposition to…
-
Harold Stabler (1872 – 1945) British ceramicist, enameller, jeweller and silversmith
Harold Stabler’s lengthy, illustrious career began in the Arts and Crafts movement and extended into the modernist era. Over the 50 years or so he devoted to the arts, he created an astounding diversity of highly regarded pieces, both unique and mass-produced, in various mediums and styles. Read More →
-
Emmy Roth (1885 – 1942) German / Israeli Silversmith
In 1916, she established her workshop in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Her early work was influenced by the Baroque, but her later work was more straightforward, as evidenced by her fruit dish in The Studio, 1929.Read More →
-
Gunilla Jung (d. 1939) Finnish silversmith and lighting designer
Gunilla Jung was a glass and lighting artist and Silversmith. She designed glassware for Karhula (later Iittala) in the 1930s at the Institute of Applied Arts in Helsinki. Maybe best known for her pioneering lighting projects, such as in Helsinki’s Savoy Theatre. Taito created her first silver designs and, later in the 1930s, others by…
-
Albert Reimann (1874 – 1971) German metalworker and educator
Albert and his wife Klara Reimann founded the Schülerwerkstatten für Kleinplastik (School for Small Sculpture) in Berlin in 1902. Reimann was a gifted craftsman who created prototypes to produce bronze, copper, silver, gold, and pottery. Read More →
-
Cylinda Line Teapot by Arne Jacobsen
The Cylinda Line featured a close design connection among all aspects and the consistency of features throughout, including logo and packaging. It was designed over three years by International Style architect Jacobsen in collaboration with its manufacturer, Stelton. Read More →
-
Carlo Guiliano (1831 – 1895) Italian Goldsmith and Jeweller
Carlo Guiliano was an Italian jeweller and goldsmith who was born in Naples and worked in London. In 1860, Guiliano settled in London and worked for Harry Emanuel. He collaborated with Castellani Italian Jewellers on at least one piece of jewellery. In the archaeological or Etruscan style, he was a talented jeweller. He developed his…
-
Jean Puiforcat (1897 – 1945) French Art Deco Silversmith
His silver work was based on the geometric series and had smooth surfaces. Pieces were embellished with ivory, onyx, lapis lazuli, and rosewood. He also used gilding.Read More →
-
Erik Magnussen (1884 – 1961) Danish silversmith and designer
Danish silversmith of Art Deco and Cubist works Erik Magnussen was a silversmith and designer from Denmark. He lived in the United States from 1925 to 1939, first as artistic director of the Gorham Manufacturing Company in New York City and subsequently with his workshop in Chicago and Los Angeles.Read More →
-
Lino Sabattani (1925 – 2016) Italian Metal Smith
Sabbatini worked as a silversmith from a very early age. He learned metalworking techniques and became interested in shapes derived from natural materials. The Boule teapot and example of his early work was designed for T. Wolff in Germany.Read More →
-
Paul Kiss (1885 – 1962) Hungarian Metal worker
Paul Kiss was Hungarian metalworker he was born Belabalva (now Romania). He was professionally active in Paris. Read More →
-
Robert Welch (1929 – 2000) English designer and silversmith
He studied painting at the Malvern School of Art under Victor Moody from 1946 to 1947 and 1949 to 1950. Silversmithing at Birmingham College of Art between 1950 and 1952. Between 1952 and 1955, he studied silversmithing at the Royal College of Art in London, mentored by Robert Gooden.Read More →
-
Hugo Leven (1874 – 1956) German Sculptor and Metalsmith
Leven studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule and then at the Düsseldorf Art Academy. He worked in his father Louis Leven’s studio for a time, had numerous contacts with French artists who had a strong influence on him, and quickly became known. Engelbert Kayser hired him as the first employee in his studio. From 1895 to 1904,…
-
Samuel Yellin (1885 – 1940) Polish American Blacksmith
Samuel Yellin was born in the Russian Empire in 1884 to a Jewish family in Mohyliv-Podilskyi, Ukraine. He was apprenticed to a master ironsmith when he was eleven years old. He finished his apprenticeship at the age of sixteen in 1900. He left Ukraine shortly after and travelled across Europe. He arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,…
-
Tias Eckhoff (1926 – 2016) Norwegian designer, metalworker, ceramicist
Tias Eckhoff (1926 – 2016) was a well-known industrial designer in Norway. His production was constrained, but many of his products have endured as timeless design classics. In addition to the design of RBM Ana, RBM Bella, and Low-back Bella, he was also responsible for the famous Maya cutlery and Glohane tableware, to name a…
-
Gilbert Poillerat (1902 – 1988) French Designer and metalworker
In 1927, he started working for Baudet, Donon et Roussel, a carpentry and metal construction workshop. He was in charge of the new wrought iron section. Grillework, tables, chairs, consoles, screens, lighting, and firedogs were all designed and manufactured by him. Poillerat’s metalwork was rendered in characteristic winding calligraphic forms in various media ranging from…
-
Carl Hugo Pott (1906 – 1985) – German Metalworker & Silversmith
Carl Pott studied design and metallurgy at technical school in Solingen and Forschungsinitut unf Profieramt für Edelmetalle, Schwäbisch-Gmünd.Read More →
-
Marianne Brandt (1893–1983) German painter designer and metalworker
The modernist German designer Marianne Brandt was one of the few women associated with the Bauhaus to make her reputation outside the traditional arts and crafts sectors related to women such as textiles, weaving and pottery. Read More →
-
Christopher Dresser (1834 – 1904) – British Industrial Designer
Dresser was a one-of-a-kind designer in the nineteenth century. He is regarded as a forerunner of modern industrial design, creating simple, practical things for mass production when colleagues like William Morris and John Ruskin advocated a return to craft production based on the mediaeval guild model.Read More →
-
Paul Howard Manship (1885 – 1966) – American Sculptor
Paul Howard Manship was an American Sculptor. He was influenced by Hindu and Buddhist Indian Sculpture. He began his artistic education at the St. Paul School of Art in Minnesota, and he attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts before moving onto New York City’s Art Student League. Throughout his subsequent career, he created more…
-
Carl-Gustaf Jahnsson (1935 – 1994) Swedish silversmith and designer
Designer of iKea Dragon Cultery Carl-Gustaf Hallberg Jahnsson (1935-1994) was a Swedish silversmith and designer.Read More →
-
Johan Rohde (1856 – 1935) Danish Architect, Metalworker & Designer
He was born in Randers, where he graduated from grammar school in 1875 and studied medicine before turning to art and painting. In 1882, he enrolled in the Academy after studying privately with Wenzel Torne.Read More →
-
Marquina Cutlery by Rafael Marquina
The purpose of this cutlery is to avoid staining the tablecloth, the same idea that inspired Marquina to create his famous olive oil bottle. The unique handles of the knives, forks and spoons raise the part that would touch the table. The fish knife incorporates an ingenious prong for opening shellfish.Read More →
-
Peter Raacke (b.1928) German metalworker and designer
Hessische Metallwerke commissioned Raacke to produce metal cutlery, kitchen equipment, and cookware, most notably his “Mono-a” line (v-33), with silverware available in stainless steel and sterling silver.Read More →
-
Dagobert Peche (1887 – 1923) Austrian artist and designer
He devised wholly new, amusing forms, frequently in simple materials like tole and cardboard; the conditions caused by World War I dictated the use of low-cost raw materials. Read More →
-
Albert Paley (b.1944) American modernist metal sculptor
Albert Paley (born 1944) is an American modernist metal sculptor. Starting as a jeweller, he has evolved into one of the world’s most renowned and famous metalsmiths. Furniture, gates, railings, and staircases are among his creations. He consults with architects and space planners, and he leads a team of craftspeople in his Rochester, New York,…
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.