Bob Winston (jeweler)

Bob Winston
Born	Charles Robert Winston (1915-04-05)April 5, 1915 Long Beach, California, U.S.
Died	April 9, 2003(2003-04-09) (aged 88)[1] Pleasant Hill, California, U.S.[1]
Occupation(s)	Educator, jeweler, sculptor
Known for	Modernist jewelry, organic shaped sculpture

Charles Robert Winston (1915 – 2003) was an American jeweler, sculptor, and educator.^[1] He was known for his organic forms and sculptural jewelry in 1950s and 1960s.^[2] Winston was a co-founder of the Metal Arts Guild of San Francisco,^[1] a non-profit, arts educational organization.^[3] In 1997, he was honored as a Fellow of the American Craft Council.^[1]

Biography

Winston taught at the California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts) from c. 1942 to 1956.^[4] His students included Florence Resnikoff, Irena Brynner, and Robert Dhaemers.^[4] He has been credited with reviving (within the period of 1950s Modernism) the metalsmith processes of lost-wax casting, and centrifugal casting.^[2]

In 1951, he was featured on the television program "Art in Your Life" by the San Francisco Art Museum (now San Francisco Museum of Modern Art),^[1] where he described his mobile sculpture making process.^[5] Winston created public play sculpture named, "Oakland Monster" or "Mid Century Monster" (1952) at Lake Merritt near Bellevue Avenue in Oakland.^[6][7]

Winston died on April 9, 2003, and was remembered by SFGate as "a consummate Bay Area jewelry designer, sculptor, instructor, and author."^[1]

Exhibitions

In 1954, Winston was part of a group exhibition of jewelry at Gallery of America House by the American Craftsmen's Educational Council in New York City; other participants included Margaret De Patta, Mary Schimpff, Robert von Neumann, and John Paul Miller.^[8] In 1985, he was part of the group exhibition, Structure and Ornament: American Modernist Jewelry 1940–1960 shown at Fifty-50 Gallery, New York City.^[9]

References

1. "Winston, Bob". SFGate. 2003-04-20. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
2. "Bob Winston Silver Sculpture". Objects USA. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
3. Lauria, Jo; Baizerman, Suzanne (2005). California design : the legacy of the West Coast craft and style. San Francisco, Calif.: Chronicle Books. p. 140. ISBN 978-0811843744. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
4. Shaifer, Jennifer (2011). Metal Rising: The Forming of the Metal Arts Guild, San Francisco (1929-1964). Washington, D.C.: Corcoran College of Art & Design, Department of History of Decorative Arts. pp. 24, 35–36. hdl:10088/18636. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
5. "Women Artists of Bay Area Display Work". Newspapers.com. Oakland Tribune. November 11, 1951. p. 70. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
6. Niland, Josh (September 12, 2022). "Docomomo US names 2022 Modernism in America Awards winners". Archinect News. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
7. Harrington, Jim (2021-11-16). "10 awesome Bay Area music landmarks all fans should visit". The Mercury News. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
8. "Jewelry Designs Shown By Artists". The New York Times. 1954-04-02. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
9. Schiro, Anne-Marie (1985-01-15). "Innovative Jewelry:1940–1960". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-09.

External links

• Oral history interview with Bob Winston, 2002 July 31-October 10, from Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
• OMCA Collection