Today we celebrate the birthday of Arnold Crane #ArnoldCrane

For sale here is a RARE pair of vintage 1950s handmade sterling silver and wood modernist cufflinks by Ed Wiener NYC, and purchased from him by world-famous photographer Arnold Crane in the 1950s and in his personal collection until just recently purchased from the estate. An iconic mid century modernist design in sterling silver and wood by one of the greats of the period! Ed Wiener was a native New Yorker born in 1918, and began his career in artist circles in the 1940s in Greenwich Village in New York City where he had a studio. His work is decidedly modernist and less surrealist than some of his contemporaries. His clients included the sculptor Louise Nevelson, and the dancer Martha Graham. He worked in silver for the most part, often combining it with wood and semiprecious gemstones like cultured pearls, amethyst and other varieties of quartz. In the early 1960s he branched out into using gold and more valuable gemstones in his jewelry, but the earlier silver designs will always be my favorites! He passed away in 1991 at the age of 73. The cufflinks measure 3/4" wide by 3/8" tall at fronts, and the pair weigh 10.7 grams total. They are marked at back "Ed Wiener Sterling" though the mark is partially obscured by the swivelbacks, but the mark is still readable. Excellent vintage condition

These cufflinks were originally owned by Arnold Crane (1932-2014), an American collector and photographer of global renown, and are from his estate. From the 1950’s through the 1990’s, Crane enjoyed unparalleled access to such giants as Man Ray, Walker Evans, Ansel Adams and Edward Steichen and many others. His photography collection was the largest in the world at that time and became the lynchpin acquisition of a special wing of the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. His collections of African, Oceanic and Native American art are well-known. He was an early collector of Mexican silver from Taxco, and his collection included works by Spratling, Los Castillo, Hector Aguilar, Salvador Teran, and Sigi, among others. He also collected the works of a few of the American modernists including of course this pair by early American studio artist Ed Wiener. His own photographic artwork is found in the permanent collections of the Met, MOMA and the Art Institute of Chicago. See also my photograph of Crane taken in the latter part of his life. These cufflinks were originally purchased by Crane directly from Ed Wiener in New York City in the 1950s where he lived and worked at that time, and were in his collection until his death in 2014, and I just recently acquired them from his estate.

A great pair of sterling and wood modernist cufflinks made by Ed Wiener of NYC, and from the estate of acclaimed photographer and collector Arnold Crane.

Available in my Ruby Lane shop...

www.rubylane.com/item/1879775...

#cufflinks #modernistcufflinks #edwiener #nyc #arnoldcrane #photography #art