Bracelet

Richard Reinhardt helped shape the language of modern American metalsmithing through a practice grounded in tradition and guided by thoughtful innovation. Working primarily in sterling silver, he brought both technical mastery and conceptual rigor to the field. He learned metalsmithing from his father, a tinsmith and mechanical arts teacher. Initially trained in painting at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art (later the University of the Arts), Reinhardt turned to jewelry when he couldn’t afford a gift for his girlfriend. After World War II, he refined his craft under Baron Erik Fleming, silversmith to the king of Sweden, at the Handy and Harman summer workshops in New York State. 

Early in his career, Reinhardt created hollowware—sugar bowls, dishes, and ceremonial wedding crowns—refining his silversmithing skills through functional form. He later turned to jewelry, producing sculptural works built from geometric forms interrupted by precise wirework. This approach, which he called “discontinuous continuity,” blended structural clarity with expressive restraint; it is especially evident in the cascade of cones that form his Song of the Sherpa necklace. During his more than forty years of teaching at the University of the Arts, Reinhardt mentored artists including Olaf Skoogfors, Myra Mimlitsch-Gray, and Wesley Emmons.  

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Please note that work by this particular artist might not be on view when you visit.
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