1970

Sectional Brooch

American, born 1944

Best known as the foremost American maker of wrought iron, which he uses primarily for architectural elements and large-scale furniture, Albert Paley began his career as a goldsmith and jeweler. He was trained at the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, where he rebelled against the austere simplicity championed by the generation of Olaf Skoogfors. Taking inspiration from the sinuous lines of Art Nouveau, which was then coming back into fashion, Paley created jewelry with sculptural, if not monumental, qualities. In this brooch, the clasp mechanism is integrated into the overall design, a signature of Paley's work.