Florence Koehler (1861 – 1944) American Craftsperson and Designer

Florence Koehler (1861 – 1944) was an American artist, craftsperson, designer, and jeweller, professionally active in Chicago, London and Rome. She was one of the best-known jewellers of the Arts and Crafts movement that flourished in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In Chicago, Koehler’s jewellery was made in a crafts style that was fashionable in artistic circles. Koehler became one of the American crafts-revival leaders in jewellery, which was related more to French than English styles.

She was the travelling companion of Emily Crane Chadbourne, and the pair settled in London, where Koehler retained a studio in Kensington. There, she was acquainted with Alice Stopford Green, Arthur Bowen Davies, Augustus John, Lady Ottoline Morrell, Henry James, and Roger Quilter. In 1912, she moved to Paris and lived in Place des Vosges, where she befriended Henri Matisse. Koehler met arts patron Mary Elizabeth Sharpe in 1920. She moved to Rome in the 1930s. In January 1944, her health failed, and she was taken to a clinic where she was diagnosed with cancer. She died in Rome on May 4, 1944.

Sources

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.

Ryden, H. (1902, March 16). Chicago Makers of Artistic and Original Jewelry. Chicago Tribune.

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, December 16). Florence Koehler. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:45, February 26, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Florence_Koehler&oldid=994556570

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