Byron August Wilson: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|American artist}}

| name = Byron Wilson

| image = Byron Wilson portrait 1.jpg

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| birth_date = July 6, 1918

| birth_place = [[Alameda, California]], U.S.

| death_date = June 15, 1992

| death_place = [[Duncans Mills, California]], U.S.

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| field = Jewelry, [[metalworking]]

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'''Byron August Wilson''' (1918–1992) was an American mid-20th century artist and educator, known for his jewelry design.

Wilson was born in [[Alameda, California]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Crafting Modernism: Midcentury American Art and Design|last2=Scanlan|first2=Jennifer|publisher=Abrams|year=2011|isbn=978-0-8109-8480-6|location=New York, NY|pages=318|last1=Felino|first1=Jeannine}}</ref> Although self-taught,<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1= Tigerman |last2= Munro Miller |last3= Simkowitz |last4= Steinberger |first1= Bobbye |first2= Jennifer |first3= Lacy |first4= Staci |date= 2013 |title= A Handbook of California Design, 1930–1965: Craftspeople, Designers, Manufacturers |location= Los Angeles, CA; Cambridge, MA |publisher= Los Angeles County Museum of Art, MIT Press |page= 294 |isbn= 978-0-262-51838-3}}</ref> he gained recognition for his jewelry design and art during the California studio jewelry movement in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.

In 1951, Wilson was one of the founding member of the [[Metal Arts Guild of San Francisco]].<ref name="Lauria">{{cite book |last1=Lauria |first1=Jo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KvtNbSpCpTkC&pg=PA140 |title=California design : the legacy of the West Coast craft and style |last2=Baizerman |first2=Suzanne |date=2005 |publisher=Chronicle Books |isbn=978-0811843744 |location=San Francisco, Calif. |access-date=6 October 2022}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite news |date=1957-12-05 |title=College Exhibits Rare Ornaments |pages=29 |work=Redwood City Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110858820/college-exhibits-rare-ornaments/ |access-date=2022-10-07}}</ref> [[Margaret De Patta]], another founding member, had an influence on his work.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=L'Ecuyer |first=Kelly H. |title=Jewelry by Artists: In the Studio, 1940–2000 |publisher=MFA Publications |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-87846-750-1 |location=Boston, MA |pages=70–73}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" /> With the help of students, he established CCAC's first metal foundry.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Lesser Wolf|first=Toni|year=1992|title=The Gadget Man|journal=Metalsmith (Quarterly)|pages=34–37}}</ref> During this period, he also worked as a claims inspector for the [[Southern Pacific Railroad]].<ref name=":0" />

Wilson's art incorporated geometric shapes formed from materials such as [[ebony]] wood and ivory.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite book|title=California Design, 1930–1965: Living in a Modern Way|url=https://archive.org/details/californiadesign00kapl|url-access=limited|last2=Tigerman|first2=Bobbye|date=2011|publisher=Los Angeles County Museum of Art, MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-01607-0|location=Los Angeles, CA; Cambridge, MA|page=[https://archive.org/details/californiadesign00kapl/page/n344 341]|last1=Kaplan|first1=Wendy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Metal Techniques for Craftsmen|last=Untracht|first=Oppi|publisher=Doubleday & Company, Inc.|year=1968|isbn=0-385-03027-4|location=Garden City, NY|pages=220}}</ref> He also made use of unconventional casting methods to create his metal pieces.<ref name=":1" />

In 1981, Byron Wilson filed a patent for an improved type of flap sander (pat. no. 4,365,448).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearchbool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=4365448.PN.&OS=PN/4365448&RS=PN/4365448|title=United States Patent: 4365448|last=Wilson|first=Byron|date=December 28, 1982|publisher=United States Patent Office|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629044950/http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=4365448.PN.&OS=PN%2F4365448&RS=PN%2F4365448|archive-date=June 29, 2019|url-status=dead|access-date=March 17, 2017|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The tool consisted of a slotted cylinder and cover plate that held replaceable strips of sandpaper.[[File:Byron Wilson's mark.jpg|thumb|Artist hallmark found on some of Byron Wilson's jewelry pieces.]]

The [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston|Museum of Fine Arts in Boston]] (MFA) has one example of Wilson's work in their collection.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/necklace-459062|title=Site {{!}} MFA Collections|access-date=2017-05-24}}</ref>

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