Marcus & Co.
The New York jewellery firm of Marcus & Co. (1892–1942) created exceptional examples of Art Nouveau and Art Deco jewellery for an art-loving, wealthy elite. Innovative in their collaboration with contemporary artists, and in their captivating window displays and advertisements, the firm captured the imagination of Gilded Age families such as the Rockefellers. This volume chronicles their story, from the founder’s apprenticeship in Dresden to the firm’s grand premises on Fifth Avenue neighbouring Tiffany and Cartier. The triumphs and tragedies of three generations of Marcus jewellers, both artistic and entrepreneurial, are presented here together with exquisite jewellery and archival design drawings spanning 50 years.
Beth Carver Wees is Curator Emerita, The American Wing, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and formerly Curator of Decorative Arts at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. An international lecturer, she is the author of English, Irish & Scottish Silver at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute (1997) and Early American Silver in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2013). Beth was one of six organizing curators for The Met’s museum-wide exhibition "Jewelry: The Body Transformed" and was a contributor to its catalogue (2018). In 2019 she curated the Met’s special exhibition "Jewelry for America".
Since 2000, Sheila Smithie has been a jewellery specialist and appraiser for Skinner Auctioneers, Bonhams and Macklowe Gallery. She is a Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, and recipient of its 2005 Christie’s Prize. From 2013, she consulted for Beth Wees, jewelry curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, helping to research the museum’s holdings for the 2018 exhibition "Jewelry: The Body Transformed”. She designed and taught the course "Gems and Jewelry: History and Markets" for masters degree students at Sotheby's Institute in New York. A graduate of Harvard College, she spent her early career in investment banking, working in Europe and Latin America.