Betty Cooke

American designer (1924–2024)

Betty Cooke

Cooke in 2004

Born|

Catherine Elizabeth Cooke

(1924-05-05)May 5, 1924

Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.

Died| August 13, 2024(2024-08-13) (aged 100)
Alma mater|

* Maryland Institute
* Johns Hopkins University

Known for| Jewelry design, metalwork
Movement| American Modernist
Spouse|

William O. Steinmetz

(m. 1955; died 2016)​

External audio

"Conversations Podcast 1: Betty Cooke", Cara Ober, BMoreArt

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 the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York. She is regarded as an important role model for other artists and craftspeople.[9]

## Biography

[edit]

Cooke was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 5, 1924.[10] She was an enthusiastic member of the Girl Scouts, attending Camp Whippoorwill.[11] Her lifelong friend, Dr. Miriam Shamer Daly, describes some childhood adventures with Cooke in her memoir, Doctor Miriam.[12]

### Education

[edit]

After taking art classes in high school, she went to the Maryland 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]

### Teaching career

[edit]

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 artist Bill Steinmetz. They later began dating, and eventually married.[2][15]

### Design career

[edit]

Gold necklace designed by Betty Cooke, circa 1960 Bill 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 in Mount 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, many Fair 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]

They later established The Store Ltd at the Village of Cross Keys in Baltimore in 1965.[17][4]

### Death

[edit]

Cooke died on August 13, 2024, at the age of 100.[18]

## Jewelry design

[edit]

Although she is widely read in the areas of art and design, Betty Cooke is largely self-trained. Her jewelry style is influenced by Bauhaus 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 miniature Calder mobile around your neck.[14]

Her pieces have been sold through museums such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Hirshhorn Museum and contemporary designers such as Keegs in Seattle, Washington. Cooke has designed jewelry for Kirk Stieff and for Geoffrey Beene's shows in New York and Milan.[2][8]

> "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 in Modernist jewelry 1930–1960 : the wearable art movement,[20] Form & function : American modernist jewelry, 1940-1970,[21] and exhibition catalogs including Messengers 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 the De Beers Group.[16] In her annual 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]

## Selected exhibitions

[edit]

* 2021, "Betty Cooke: The Circle and the Line", Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD [24]
* 2014, "Betty Cooke: Selections", Goya Contemporary Gallery, Baltimore, MD[25]
* 2008, Fort Wayne Museum of Art[8]
* 1997, "Messengers of Modernism",[8] Group exhibition, Musée des arts décoratifs de Montréal, (now part of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada)[26]
* 1995, "Design . Jewelry . Betty Cooke" a retrospective exhibition and catalog of her jewelry from 1946 – 1994, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)[14]
* 1951, "Young Americans", Group exhibition, American Craft Museum, New York, NY[2][8]
* 1951, "Textiles, Ceramics, Metalwork", Group exhibition, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan[8]
* 1950 "Good Design", Group exhibition, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY[2][8]
* 1948, "Modern Jewelry Under $50" 1948–1950, Group exhibition, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN (also 1955, 1959)[2][8][19]

## Collections

[edit]

Betty Cooke's work is found in museum collections, including:

* Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY[27][8]
* Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY[8] (formerly American Craft Museum, New York, NY[14])
* Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN[8]
* Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA[26][8]
* Musée des arts décoratifs de Montréal, Canada (now part of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada)[8]

## Catalogues

[edit]

* 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.

## Awards and honors

[edit]

* American Craft Council, College of Fellows, 1996[8][28]
* Maryland Institute College of Art, Alumni Medal of Honor, 1987
* De Beers Diamonds Today Award 1979, 1981[8]
* The Betty Cooke '46 Scholarship, Maryland Institute College of Art[29]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Cooke, Betty (June 2–25, 1995). Design, Jewelry, Betty Cooke : June 2–25 1995. Baltimore, MD: Maryland Institute College of Art; Meyerhoff Gallery.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Oral history interview with Betty Cooke, 2004 July 1–2". Archives of American Art. Smithsonian Archives of American Art. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
3. ^ Sugarman, Joe (2015). "Town Jewel Betty Cooke's The Store Ltd just turned 50 years old. And at 90, she's not slowing down". Baltimore Magazine. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
4. ^ a b c d Kelly, Jacques (February 6, 2015). "Designers make lifelong impact on Baltimore's arts scene". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
5. ^ "A Visit with Betty Cooke Designer, Silversmith". Silver Salon Forums. SM Publications. September 2, 2006.
6. ^ Kirkham, Pat (2000). Women designers in the USA, 1900–2000 : diversity and difference : Jacqueline M. Atkins ... [et al.]. New York: Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts. p. 207\. ISBN 9780300093315. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
7. ^ a b c Schon, Marbeth (June 13, 2001). "An interview with Betty Cooke". Modern Silver. Archived from the original on June 2, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Betty Cooke Biography – Short". Goya Contemporary. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
9. ^ Wolf, Toni Lesser (1989). "Betty Cooke: Total Design in Jewelry". Metalsmith Magazine. Spring. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
10. ^ a b c Yager, Jan (July 1, 2004). "Oral history interview with Betty Cooke, 2004 July 1–2". Archives of American Art, Smithsonian.
11. ^ Powder, Jackie (October 1, 1995). "Badges of friendship S'more good times: 60 years later, a group of Girl Scouts reunites at Camp Whippoorwill". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
12. ^ Daly, Miriam (March 2022). Doctor Miriam. Chelsea, Michigan: Executive Education, Inc. pp. 29, 32–35. ISBN 9798433398535.
13. ^ Wharton, Carol (December 4, 1979). "Pathfinder in Jewelry". The Baltimore Sun. p. 71.
14. ^ a b c d e Giuliano, Mike (June 6, 1995). "Cooke's jewelry is a model of restraint". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
15. ^ Kelly, Jacques (November 25, 2016). "William Steinmetz, designer and Maryland Institute College of Art alumnus". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
16. ^ a b Wise, Gabrielle (July 24, 1979). "Designer finds a pot of gold and pebbles". The Baltimore Sun. p. B3.
17. ^ Sugarman, Joe (April 2015). "Town Jewel". Baltimore Magazine. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
18. ^ Gunts, Ed (2024-08-14). "Baltimore Fishbowl | Betty Cooke, celebrated jewelry designer and esteemed Baltimorean, Dies at 100 -". Baltimore Fishbowl. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
19. ^ a b May, Stephen (June 14, 2013). "Betty Cooke: Modern Jewelry Pioneer". Antiques and the Arts Weekly. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
20. ^ Schon, Marbeth (2004). Modernist jewelry 1930–1960 : the wearable art movement. Atglen, Pa.: Schiffer. ISBN 9780764320200.
21. ^ Schon, Marbeth (2008). Form & function : American modernist jewelry, 1940-1970. Atglen, PA: Schiffer. ISBN 9780764329760.
22. ^ Greenbaum, Toni (1996). Eidelberg, Martin (ed.). Messengers of Modernism : American studio jewelry 1940–1960 (Catalogue for exhibition organized by the Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts, 1997 ed.). Paris: Flammarian. ISBN 9782080135933.
23. ^ Yager, Jan (1998). "Patrons who make history" (PDF). Art Jewelry Forum. No. 4. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
24. ^ Wiegand, Kimber (November 22, 2021). "Circles, Lines, and Good Designs: The Legacy of Betty Cooke". Art Jewelry Forum.
25. ^ "Betty Cooke: Selections in Baltimore". Eventful. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
26. ^ a b Shaykett, Jessica (September 19, 2011). "Betty Cooke: Art + Work". American Craft Magazine. American Craft Council.
27. ^ Ober, Cara (16 September 2015). "Conversations Podcast 1: Betty Cooke". BMoreArt. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
28. ^ "American Craft Council College of Fellows". American Craft Council. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
29. ^ "Donor-Funded Scholarships: A-C". www.mica.edu. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2018.

## External links

[edit]

* Yager, Jan (July 1, 2004). "Oral history interview with Betty Cooke, 2004 July 1–2". Archives of American Art, Smithsonian.
* Yager, Jan (July 1, 2004). "Oral history interview with Betty Cooke, 2004 July 1–2 (Draft transcript)" (PDF). Harry Bertoia's Birthplace.
* Schon, Marbeth (June 13, 2001). "An interview with Betty Cooke". Modern Silver. Archived from the original on June 2, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
* "Betty Cooke Biography – Short". Goya Contemporary. Retrieved 11 September 2017.

* v
* t
* e

American Craft Council College of Fellows

Honorary Fellows are listed in italics.

1975|

* Adda Husted Andersen
* Dorothy Meredith
* Ed Rossbach
* Frans Wildenhain
* Harvey Littleton
* Lenore Tawney
* Lili Blumenau
* Peter Voulkos
* Sam Maloof
* Toshiko Takaezu
* Trude Guermonprez
* Florence Eastmead
* Francis Sumner Merritt
* Margaret Patch
* Mary Lyon
* Maurine Roberts
* Rudolph Schaeffer

1976|

* Charles Loloma
* Else Regensteiner
* John Paul Miller
* Karen Karnes
* Laura Anderson
* Ronald Hayes Pearson
* Ruth Penington
* Anna Wetherill Olmsted
* Lloyd Kiva New

1977|

* Alice Kagawa Parrott
* Daniel Rhodes
* Don Reitz
* John Prip
* Mary Caroline Richards
* Ramona Solberg
* Robert C. Turner
* Aileen Osborn Webb

1978|

* Alma Eikerman
* Bob Stocksdale
* Dominick Labino
* Frederick Miller
* Jack Lenor Larsen
* L. Brent Kington
* Mary Walker Phillips
* Rudolf Staffel
* Rudy Autio
* Eugenia Campbell Nowlin

1979|

* Arline Fisch
* George Nakashima
* Gerry Williams
* Hans Christensen
* Katherine Westphal
* Joan Mondale
* Margery Anneberg
* Rose Slivka
* William Brown

1980|

* Bernard Kester
* Joel Myers
* Margret Craver
* Mary Nyburg
* Tage Frid
* Warren MacKenzie
* Eudorah Moore
* Robert W. Gray

1983|

* Douglass Morse Howell
* F. Carlton Ball
* Mary Ann Scherr
* Ruth Duckworth
* Sheila Hicks
* Marian Heard
* Susan Peterson

1985|

* John Mason
* Kay Sekimachi
* Marianne Strengell
* Maurice Heaton
* Richard Thomas
* Ted Randall
* Harold Brennan
* Sydney Butchkes

1986|

* Dale Chihuly
* Kenneth Ferguson
* Wendell Castle

1987|

* Beatrice Wood
* Claire Zeisler
* Dominic Di Mare
* Edward Moulthrop
* Heikki Seppä
* June Schwarcz
* Richard DeVore
* Robert Sperry
* Val Cushing
* Carlyle Smith
* James Wallace
* Jonathan Fairbanks
* LaMar Harrington

1988|

* Albert Green
* Arthur Carpenter
* C. Carl Jennings
* Frances Senska
* Fritz Dreisbach
* Glen Kaufman
* Harrison McIntosh
* Mark Peiser
* Mary Scheier
* James McKinnell
* Nan Bangs McKinnell
* Paul Soldner
* Phillip Fike
* Polly Lada-Mocarski
* Ted Hallman
* Walter G. Nottingham
* William Daley
* C. Malcolm Watkins
* James Melchert
* Lloyd Herman
* Marion Stroud Swingle
* Paul J. Smith
* Rudy Turk

1990|

* Edris Eckhardt
* Frances Higgins
* Francis Whitaker
* Gertrud Natzler
* Lillian Elliott
* Margaret Tafoya
* Michael Higgins
* Otto Heino
* Otto Natzler
* Viktor Schreckengost
* Vivika Heino
* Blanche Reeves
* R. Leigh Glover

1992|

* Cynthia Schira
* David Shaner
* Edgar Anderson
* Joyce Anderson
* James 'Mel' Someroski
* Karl Martz
* Kurt Matzdorf
* Marvin Lipofsky
* Robert Arneson
* Stanley Lechtzin
* Walker Weed
* Helen Drutt English
* Mildred Constantine
* Ruth DeYoung Kohler

1993|

* Betty Woodman
* Gerhardt Knodel
* Jere Osgood
* John Marshall
* Kenneth Price
* Margarete Seeler
* Oppi Untracht
* Robert G. Hart

1994|

* Albert Paley
* Henry Halem
* John McQueen
* Merry Renk
* Patti Warashina
* Robert Ebendorf
* Rude Osolnik
* Stephen De Staebler
* Viola Frey
* Lee Nordness

1995|

* Charles Counts
* Ferne Jacobs
* Fred Fenster
* J. Fred Woell
* Karl Drerup
* Richard Marquis
* Wayne Higby
* Michael Monroe

1996|

* Betty Cooke
* Claude Horan
* Garry Knox Bennett
* Helena Hernmarck
* Jun Kaneko
* Kenneth Bates
* Mark Levine
* Mary Lee Hu
* Jean Griffith
* Virginia Harvey

1997|

* Chunghi Choo
* Jack Earl
* Ka Kwong Hui
* Lia Cook
* Bob Winston
* Ron Nagle
* Tommy Simpson
* William Keyser
* Sandra Blain

1998|

* Dan Dailey
* Edwin Scheier
* Eleanor Moty
* James Bassler
* Judy McKie
* Richard Mawdsley
* Richard Shaw
* William Harper
* Paulus Berensohn

1999|

* Dorothy Barnes
* Helen Shirk
* Irena Brynner
* Nancy Crow
* Paul Marioni
* Ralph Baccera
* Therman Statom
* Fred Marer

2000|

* Adrian Saxe
* Anne Wilson
* Cynthia Bringle
* Eugene Pijanowski
* Hiroko Sato-Pijanowski
* James Krenov
* Joyce Scott
* Marjorie Schick
* Paul Stankard
* Christa C. Mayer Thurman
* Theodore Cohen

2001|

* David Ellsworth
* Gary Noffke
* Joan Livingstone
* John Glick
* Michael James
* Norman Schulman
* Thomas Patti
* Warren Seelig
* Alice Rooney

2002|

* Harlan Butt
* Jane Sauer
* John Cederquist
* Paula Winokur
* Robert Winokur
* Garth Clark

2003|

* Ana Lisa Hedstrom
* James Tanner
* Kurt Weiser
* Norma Minkowitz
* Tom Joyce
* Albert LeCoff

2005|

* Alphonse Mattia
* Flora Mace
* Gary Griffin
* Joey Kirkpatrick
* Linda Threadgill
* Patricia Hickman
* Martha Longenecker

2006|

* Akio Takamori
* Howard Ben Tré
* Jason Pollen
* Kiff Slemmons
* Walter Hamady
* Stuart Kestenbaum

2007|

* Arturo Sandoval
* Marilyn da Silva
* Mark Lindquist
* Richard Notkin
* Robert Brady
* William Morris
* Nanette Laitman

2008|

* Adela Akers
* Glenda Arentzen
* Gyöngy Laky
* John Horn
* Robyn Horn
* Tony Hepburn
* Toots Zynsky
* Wendy Maruyama
* Lois Moran

2009|

* Benjamin Moore
* Bernard Bernstein
* Carol Shaw-Sutton
* Jamie Bennett
* Louis Marak
* Rosanne Somerson
* Robert Pfannebecker

2010|

* Ginny Ruffner
* John Garrett
* John Stephenson
* Rebecca Medel
* Ron Ho
* Susanne Stephenson
* William Hunter
* Janet Koplos

2012|

* Andrea Gill
* Anne Currier
* Dante Marioni
* Lewis Knauss
* Sharon Church
* Sherri Smith
* Thomas Loeser
* Bruce Pepich

2014|

* John Gill
* Jane Lackey
* Michael Hurwitz
* Judith Schaechter
* Bruce Metcalf
* William Carlson
* Tina Oldknow

2016|

* Nick Cave
* Michael Cooper
* Françoise Grossen
* Chris Gustin
* Myra Mimlitsch-Gray
* Hank Murta Adams
* Edward S. Cooke Jr.

2018|

* Mark Burns
* Thomas Gentille
* Thomas Hucker
* Mary Jackson
* Beth Lipman
* Consuelo Jimenez Underwood
* Susan Cummins
* Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada

2020|

* Sonya Clark
* Lisa Gralnick
* Katherine Gray
* Annabeth Rosen
* Bob Trotman
* Patricia Malarcher

2022|

* Teri Greeves
* Karen Hampton
* Nancy Koenigsberg
* Keith Lewis
* Kristina Madsen
* Mark Pharis
* Preston Singletary
* Tip Toland
* Carolyn Mazloomi
* Howard Risatti
* Lowery Stokes Sims

2024|

* Syd Carpenter
* Michael A. Cummings
* Einar and Jamex de la Torre
* Yuri Kobayashi
* Mark Newport
* Michael Puryear
* Diego Romero
* Lynda Watson
* Diana Baird N'Diaye
* Cindi Strauss

Recipients of the Gold Medal for Consummate Craftsmanship
Dorothy Liebes (1970)
Anni Albers (1981)
Harvey Littleton (1983)
Lucy M. Lewis (1985)
Margret Craver (1986)
Peter Voulkos (1986)
Gerry Williams (1986)
Lenore Tawney (1987)
Sam Maloof (1988)
Ed Rossbach (1990)
John Prip (1992)
Beatrice Wood (1992)
Alma Eikerman (1993)
Douglass Morse Howell (1993)
Marianne Strengell (1993)
Robert C. Turner (1993)
John Paul Miller (1994)
Toshiko Takaezu (1994)
Rudolf Staffel (1995)
Bob Stocksdale (1995)
Jack Lenor Larsen (1996)
Ronald Hayes Pearson (1996)
June Schwarcz (1996)
Wendell Castle (1997)
Ruth Duckworth (1997)
Sheila Hicks (1997)
Kenneth Ferguson (1998)
Karen Karnes (1998)
Warren MacKenzie (1998)
Rudy Autio (1999)
Dominic Di Mare (1999)
L. Brent Kington (2000)
Cynthia Schira (2000)
Arline Fisch (2001)
Gertrud Natzler (2001)
Otto Natzler (2001)
Don Reitz (2002)
Kay Sekimachi (2002)
William Daley (2003)
Fred Fenster (2005)
Dale Chihuly (2006)
Paul Soldner (2008)
Katherine Westphal (2009)
Albert Paley (2010)
Stephen De Staebler (2012)
Betty Woodman (2014)
Gerhardt Knodel (2016)
Jun Kaneko (2018)
Joyce J. Scott (2020)
Jim Bassler (2022)
Lia Cook (2022)
Richard Marquis (2022)
Judy Kensley McKie (2022)
John McQueen (2022)
Patti Warashina (2022)
Nick Cave (2024)
Wendy Maruyama (2024)
Anne Wilson (2024)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States

Artists|

* ULAN

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