Catherine Elizabeth Cooke (May 5, 1924 – August 13, 2024) was an American designer principally known for her jewelry.[1][2][3][4][5][6] She has been called "an icon within the tradition of modernist jewelry"[7] and "a seminal figure in American Modernist studio jewelry".[8] Her pieces have been shown nationally and internationally and are included in a number of museum collections, including theMuseum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York. She is regarded as an important role model for other artists and craftspeople.[9]
Cooke was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 5, 1924.[10] She was an enthusiastic member of theGirl Scouts, attending Camp Whippoorwill.[11] Her lifelong friend, Dr. Miriam Shamer Daly, describes some childhood adventures with Cooke in her memoir,Doctor Miriam.[12]
After taking art classes in high school, she went to theMaryland Institute College of Art (MICA), where she studied from 1942 to 1946.[10] She received a BFA in education, the only way to get an art degree there at that time.[7][8] During her last year at the institute, she began to learn jewelry making as part of an apprenticeship, which started her on a career in jewelry design.[13]
After graduating from MICA in 1946,[14] Cooke taught there for 22 years.[8][10] In addition to teaching jewelry design, she developed a class in "Design and Materials" for furniture design with wood, metal, fabric, and leather. One of the students who took that class was artistBill Steinmetz. They later began dating, and eventually married.[2][15]
Gold necklace designed by Betty Cooke, circa 1960Bill Steinmetz, in 2004
Early in her career, Cooke designed furniture and household articles as well handbags, belts and jewelry. Her first store-front was a small house on Tyson Street inMount Vernon in Baltimore, where she lived.[2] In 1946, Cooke bought the old rowhouse for $3,000 and began to restore it.[4] She and her partner Bill Steinmetz restored it for use as a house and shop and established a design consultancy there.[4]
In 1955, Cooke and Bill Steinmetz were married. The couple worked together as designers "Cooke and Steinmetz". Their projects included a restaurant, manyFair Lanes bowling alleys, and a church.[2] Cooke explains her style as applying to large and small media: "I think in terms of jewelry, but jewelry is also sculpture that can be done on a large scale."[16]
Although she is widely read in the areas of art and design, Betty Cooke is largely self-trained. Her jewelry style is influenced byBauhaus and modernism. It is very simple and pure,[2] both geometric and minimalist.[14]
Given her early aspiration to become a sculptor,[7] it may not be surprising that she thinks of her jewelry as "sculpture in motion". Wearing her jewelry has been compared to having a miniatureCalder mobile around your neck.[14]
"There is an enduring timelessness about her work, and today, as she did 50 years ago, she continues to create work that is extraordinary in its clean, spare architectural line and stunning simplicity." Fred Lazarus IV, president of Maryland Institute College of Art[19]
Cooke's work is discussed inModernist jewelry 1930–1960 : the wearable art movement,[20]Form & function : American modernist jewelry, 1940-1970,[21] and exhibition catalogs includingMessengers of Modernism: American Studio Jewelry 1940-1960.[22]
Much of Cooke's work incorporates diamonds, gold, and pearls, and she has won awards for her diamond pieces in competitions sponsored by the De Beers Consolidated Mines, now theDe Beers Group.[16] In herannual enumeration series, she has created an ongoing series of numeric-inspired pieces for patrons who wished to commemorate specific events in their lives by commissioning a piece.[23]
1995, "Design . Jewelry . Betty Cooke" a retrospective exhibition and catalog of her jewelry from 1946 – 1994,Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)[14]
The Circle and the Line : The Jewelry of Betty Cooke. (Catalog of an exhibition held at the Walters Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD). Lewes, East Sussex, UK: GILES. 2020.
Design, Jewelry, Betty Cooke : June 2–25 1995. (Catalog of an exhibition held at the Meyerhoff Gallery). Baltimore, MD: Maryland Institute College of Art. 1995.
"Conversations Podcast 1: Betty Cooke", Cara Ober, BMoreArt
