VTG 1950\'s MATISSE Renoir Green Copper +4 Enamel Clip Earrings W/Choker Necklace
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VTG 1950\'s MATISSE Renoir Green Copper +4 Enamel Clip Earrings W/Choker Necklace:
$139.99
Marvelous Vintage Solid Copper & Enamel 1950s necklace
Matisse RenoirGreen EnamelChoker Necklace & Clip Earring Set PLUS Second Matisse earring set
14.5\" in lengthGreen Earrings are 1.65 by .5\"
Copper Leaf earrings are 1.5 \" long and 3/4\" at widest partFounded in 1946 by Jerry Fels, Renoir of California produced copper jewelry until about 1964. The Matisse mark was used only on the luscious enameled pieces produced starting in the early 1950s. Among collectors of costume jewelry, copper is usually associated with Jerry Fels, who founded Renoir of California in 1946 and Matisse Ltd. in 1952. Renoir pieces took their inspiration from the Arts and Crafts era, when copper was a favorite of artisans producing hammered hollowware. Renoir was known for its solid copper cuffs, as well as its hinged bangles in a is wonderful signed Matisse Renoir enamel copper bracelet features design in a abstract mid century style. Decorations on these pieces ranged from twisted strands of copper wire, mimicking the look of rope, to spring-like wire coils that were gently flattened and then polished to produce rows of what appeared to be semi-circular loops.
Playing with geometry was a favorite preoccupation of Renoir designers. Squares and rectangles, chunky arrows and angle-shapes, and balls of various size were also incorporated in Renoir pieces, as were leaf shapes and other floral motifs.
Jerry Fels was born on 28th January 1917. He had a long, full and actively productive life.
He joined the Art Students League and then the National Academy of Design in New York where he developed his talent of painting, sculpture and design. After a career as an Art Director and full time executive for Gertz\' department store, he enlisted in the Air Force at the outbreak of World War II and became a B-17 fighter pilot. He finally returned to California in October 1945 and began the work that shaped the rest of his professional life. Emerging in the time of the American Arts & Crafts movement, Jerrywas part of the evolving movement which became to be known as the ‘California Lifestyle\'. He established his company ‘Renoir of California\' in Los Angeles in 1946, specializing in coppery jewellery of geometric abstract forms. Copper was the popular choice for early 20th century Arts & Crafts metalworkers. With members of his family he went on to found another important name in 20 th century costume jewellery, Matisse Ltd in 1952. Matisse jewellery was also made of copper, but had the added sparkle of enamel decoration to the surface, taking the jewellery in a new direction. The business grew and at one point employed c. 300 people. The company was famous for its jewellery made in both copper and copper & enamel and was worn by film stars of the day such as Lana Turner, both Renoir and Matisse companies ceased trading in 1964 as fashions changed and demand was no longer there. (‘Copper Art Jewelery – A Different Lustre\' by Matthew L. Burkholz & Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan, Schiffer Books).VTG 1950\'s MATISSE Renoir Green Copper +4 Enamel Clip Earrings W/Choker Necklace:
$139.99