Byron August Wilson

Byron Wilson was a mid-century American artist and educator, known for his jewelry design.

Byron Wilson
Born	July 6, 1918 Alameda, California
Died	June 15, 1992 Duncans Mills, California
Nationality	American
Known for	Jewelry, metalworking

Life

Byron August Wilson (born 1918) was born in Alameda, California.[1] Although self-taught,[2] Wilson was known for his jewelry design and art during the California studio jewelry movement in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.

In 1956, the California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC) hired him to teach in the metal arts department, where he worked for 26 years.[2] With help from students, he created the CCACs first metal foundry.[3] During this period, he also worked as a claims inspector for Southern Pacific Railroad.[2]

Wilson was a founding member of the Metal Arts Guild of San Francisco. Margaret De Patta, another of the founding members, had an influence on his work.[2][4] Wilson's art incorporated geometric shapes formed from materials such as ebony wood and ivory.[2][5][6] He also made use of unconventional casting methods to create his metal pieces.[3]

In 1981, Byron Wilson filed a patent for an improved type of flap sander (pat. no. 4,365,448).[7] The tool consisted of a slotted cylinder and cover plate which held replaceable strips of sandpaper.

Artist hallmark found on some of Byron Wilson's jewelry pieces.

Byron Wilson died in 1992.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has an extensive collection of Byron Wilson's pieces.[8]

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (MFA) has one example of Wilson's work in their collection.[9]

Honors and awards

• 1952 First prize, "Pacifica," Oakland, California[3]
• 1952 First prize and honorable mention, San Francisco Art Festival[3]
• 1955 Art Commission Purchase Award, San Francisco Art Festival[3]
• 1955 Honorable mention, Richmond Annual Exhibition of Watercolor, Graphic and Decorative Arts[3]
• 1955 First prize and special award, Lafayette Art Show[3]
• 1955 Honorable mention, "Fiber, Clay and Metal," St. Paul Art Gallery[3]
• 1955 First prize, California State Fair[3]
• 1957 Purchase award and honorable mention, "American Jewelry and Related Objects," Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester[2]
• 1957 Award of merit, "Designer Craftsmen of the West," de Young Museum, San Francisco[3]
• 1981 Honorable mention, California State Fair[3]

Selected exhibitions

• 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1974 and 1975 San Francisco Art Festivals, San Francisco, California[3]
• 1952–1953 Traveling Exhibit of California Craftsmen, American Federation of Art[3]
• 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1966, 1969 Richmond Annual Exhibition of watercolor, graphic and decorative arts, Richmond, California[3]
• 1953 and 1955 "Fiber, Clay and Metal," St. Paul Art Gallery, St. Paul, Minnesota[3]
• 1955 "84 Contemporary Jewelers," Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN[1]
• 1957 "American Jewelry and Related Objects," Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York[3]
• 1956 Inaugural exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York City[3]
• 1956 and 1957 "Craftsmanship in a Changing world," Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, traveling exhibition[3]
• 1971 "The Metal Experience," Oakland Museum, Oakland, California[3]

References

1. Felino, Jeannine; Scanlan, Jennifer (2011). Crafting Modernism: Midcentury American Art and Design. New York, NY: Abrams. p. 318. ISBN 978-0-8109-8480-6.
2. Tigerman, Bobbye; Munro Miller, Jennifer; Simkowitz, Lacy; Steinberger, Staci (2013). A Handbook of California Design, 1930–1965: Craftspeople, Designers, Manufacturers. Los Angeles, CA; Cambridge, MA: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, MIT Press. p. 294. ISBN 978-0-262-51838-3.
3. Lesser Wolf, Toni (1992). "The Gadget Man". Metalsmith (Quarterly): 34–37.
4. L'Ecuyer, Kelly H. (2010). Jewelry by Artists: In the Studio, 1940–2000. Boston, MA: MFA Publications. pp. 70–73. ISBN 978-0-87846-750-1.
5. Kaplan, Wendy; Tigerman, Bobbye (2011). California Design, 1930–1965: Living in a Modern Way. Los Angeles, CA; Cambridge, MA: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, MIT Press. p. 341. ISBN 978-0-262-01607-0.
6. Untracht, Oppi (1968). Metal Techniques for Craftsmen. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc. p. 220. ISBN 0-385-03027-4.
7. Wilson, Byron (December 28, 1982). "United States Patent: 4365448". United States Patent Office. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
8. "Site | LACMA Collections". collections.lacma.org. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
9. "Site | MFA Collections". Retrieved May 24, 2017.

See also

History, Metal Arts Guild