Barbara Cartlidge and Electrum Gallery: A Passion for Jewellery

Description

The extraordinary life of Barbara Cartlidge (b. 1922 in Berlin) - influential gallerist, curator, jewellery artist and author - together with the history of her legendary Electrum Gallery, which she founded in 1971 with Ralph Turner in London, are documented for the first time in a single publication. Pioneers and colleagues as well as around seventy internationally renowned artists of the gallery all have their say and, in anecdotes and recollections, countless illustrations and hitherto unpublished images, tell of a strong and resolute woman and the significance of her gallery as a promoter and platform for the understanding of contemporary art jewellery. Particular attention is paid to the life of Barbara Cartlidge, who fled from Germany in 1938. For over fifty years she was a driving force in what she described as the 'the brotherhood of jewellers who make modern and thought-provoking jewellery all over the world'.

Beatriz Chadour-Sampson is an international and established jewelry historian, scholarly author and lecturer. Her extensive publications range from Antiquity to the present day. These include her doctoral thesis on the Italian goldsmith Antonio Gentili da Faenza (1980); the jewelry collection of the Museum fur Angewandte Kunst, Cologne (1985), the gold treasure from the Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion (1991) and 2000 Finger Rings from the Alice and Louis Koch Collection, Switzerland (1994). She continues to be curator of this ring collection and consultant to the Swiss National Museum, Zurich, where it is on loan. Her publications reflect a particular interest in contemporary jewelry including a retrospective of the artist in jewelry David Watkins. She was the consultant curator in the re-designing of the William and Judith Bollinger Jewellery Gallery at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London and also guest curator of the Pearl exhibition (2013/14). Associate member of the Goldsmiths' Company, London. Janice Hosegood is a passionate authority in contemporary jewelry. She worked with Barbara Cartlidge as her Manager at Electrum Gallery from 1987 to 2009. Involved with the very best of British and international jewelry designers, she built up her expertise in curating exhibitions, managing special commissions and overseeing one of the most important platforms for showcasing talented craftsmen and women. Since 2007, Janice has developed her own consultancy and applied her experience to many varied projects. She has made significant contributions to various companies and organisations including The Goldsmiths' Company, Crafts Council, Victoria and Albert Museum and Ruthin Crafts Centre. She has taught at The Royal College of Art, City Lit and been a guest speaker for Jerwood and Hidden Art Cornwall.