Robert Lee Morris

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Robert Lee Morris
Born1947 (age 76–77)
Nuremberg, Germany
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Jewelry Designer, sculptor

Robert Lee Morris (born 1947)

Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award by the CFDA Awards
(2007).

Early life and education

He was born in 1947 in

US Air Force. They were also stationed in Japan when he was nine for four years and later in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[5] He graduated from Beloit College with honors in 1969. In early adulthood he eventually settled down in Bellows Falls, Vermont, living on a commune and learning about metal working.[2]

Morris was discovered in 1971 by New York gallery owner Joan Sonnabend and first exhibited his work at her art jewelry outpost in the Plaza Hotel called, Sculpture to Wear.[2]

Career

Artwear Gallery

Shortly after the closing of Sculpture to Wear in 1977, he opened the first edition of Artwear Gallery

Madonna, Cher, Bianca Jagger, Janet Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, among others.[2][7] Jewelry designers shown at Artwear Gallery, besides Morris included Ted Muehling and Cara Croninger.[7] Morris own jewelry work in the 1980s was known as, "modern urban warrior pieces" and tapped into primitivism.[2][8]

Other work

A few years later a second, larger location opened nearby, followed by another on Madison Avenue in what is now the

Königsallee in Düsseldorf, Germany was short-lived. Morris closed Artwear in 1995 and the RLM Robert Lee Morris Gallery opened in September 1995 at 400 West Broadway, focusing exclusively on Morris's own work.[citation needed
]

His career took off after he appeared on the cover of

Vogue in 1976.[citation needed] His work has appeared in over a dozen issues Vogue magazines.[9]

In 1985 he worked with fashion designer Donna Karan for her first collection, they paired Karan's sleek, monochromatic, luxurious fabric clothing designs with his organic, oversized, and sculptural gold jewelry.

] He also designed a special edition lipstick and compact for Elizabeth Arden in 1990.

In the 1990s through the 2000s, Morris created a fine jewelry line called RLM Collection on QVC.[2] He has a presence on QVC television, selling RLM Studio, designed exclusively for QVC.

In 2007, Morris was the first jewelry designer to be awarded the

Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). He won the Coty Award in 1981 for his collection for Calvin Klein.[4]
He has received two other CFDA Awards for accessory design, in 1985 and 1994.

In 2008, Morris developed a jewelry collection for Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's clothing line, Elizabeth & James.[9]

In 2011, Manhattan-based, Haskell Jewels, LLC announced its acquisition of Robert Lee Morris.[citation needed]

Morris launched his Soho line at national department stores in September 2012. His higher end Collection line was launched in September 2012 at fine retailers nationwide. The Collection launched with Morris's first national ad campaign in American fashion magazines, including Vogue, W Magazine and Elle. [citation needed]

In 2017, MAC Cosmetics collaborated with Morris on a limited collection of products.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Collection: Robert Lee Morris". The Met Museum. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Jewelry designer Robert Lee Morris inspires a new generation". Los Angeles Times. 8 December 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Metal Master Robert Lee Morris on Jewels and Junk". Observer. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  4. ^ a b Hyde, Nina (26 September 1981). "Beene Gets 7th Coty Award". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  5. .
  6. ^ Reit, Rita (3 December 1995). "ARTS/ARTIFACTS;A Fashion Maker Looks Beyond Seventh Avenue". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  7. ^ a b c Phelps, Nicole. "Remembering Cara Croninger, Artwear Jewelry Maker and "Punk to the Core"". Vogue. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  8. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Robert Lee Morris Is Making Jewelry With the Olsens?". The Cut. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  10. ^ "Donna Karan and Robert Lee Morris". FIDM Museum Blog. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  11. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  12. ^ "MAC Unveils A Collaboration With Jewelry Designer Robert Lee Morris". Essence. Retrieved 28 March 2020.

External links