John Prip

John Axel Prip, also known as Jack Prip (1922–2009), was an American master metalsmith, industrial designer, and educator. He was known for setting standards of excellence in American metalsmithing. His works and designs have become famous for bringing together the formal, technical tradition of Danish design into harmony with the American desire for innovation. Several of his designs for the Reed and Barton Company are still in production today.

Early childhood and education

John Prip was born on July 8, 1922, in New York City, of a Danish father Folmer Trolle Prip and an American mother Marian Evelyn Cherry. As a child, he moved to Denmark with his family, where his father ran a silversmithing factory that had been his grandfather's. The apprenticeship experience taught diligence and a deeply rooted technical skill, but simultaneously imposed a restricted aesthetic. In a way it was the unlearning of these traditional forms and procedures that pushed the young silversmith into bold experiments and motivated the innovations that distinguished his career.

Career

Alfred University Following World War II in 1948, Prip returned to the United States with his family. This gallery was a unique institution in its time, providing not only a business venture originated and managed by craftsmen, but also a forum for the presentation of top quality avant-garde craftwork. Its mission was to educate the public to the special beauty of handmade objects. In 1957, after three years with Shop One, Prip again felt the need to move on.

Reed and Barton Company Through some fortunate connections he was hired by Reed and Barton Company, a holloware and flatware manufacturer in Massachusetts. The title invented for the role he conceived was Artist-Craftsman-Residence.

His work is in public museum collections including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, Dallas Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the James A. Michener Art Museum, Minnesota Museum of American Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Selected exhibitions

2005: "Modernism in American Silver: 20th-Century Design," Dallas Museum of Art (traveled) 1988: "John Prip: Master Metalsmith", American Craft Museum (now Museum of Arts and Design), New York City, New York 1986: "Scandinavian Craft Today: Poetry of the Physical," American Craft Museum, New York City, New York (traveled) 1980: "For the Tabletop," American Craft Museum, New York, NY 1979: "Silver in American Life," Yale University Art Gallery (traveled through 1982) 1977: Philadelphia Museum of Art Invitational, PA 1975: "Forms in Metal-275 Years of Metalsmithing in America," Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York, NY (travelled) 1974: "American Metalsmiths," Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York, NY 1973: "'73 International Jewellery Arts Exhibition," Tokyo, Japan 1972: "John Prip/Metal," Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York, NY 1971: "Holloware '71" Invitational, Fine Arts Gallery, State University of New York College at Brockport, Brockport, NY "Schmuck-Objekte, Goldschmiede Finden Neue Formen," Museum Bellerive, Zürich, Switzerland 1970: "Goldsmith '70" Invitational, Minnesota Museum of Art, St. Paul, MN (traveled) "Artists Craftsmen '70" Invitational 1969: "Objects: U.S.A. The Johnson Collection of Contemporary Crafts (traveled through 1972) 1968: Tyler Invitational, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 1965: "The New England Silversmith," Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI 1964: "30 Americans," Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York, NY "The American Craftsman," Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York, NY "Craftsmanship Defined," Philadelphia Museum College of Art, PA "Designed for Production: The Craftsman's Approach," Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York, NY 1962: "A Craftsman's Role in Modern Industry: John Prip at Reed & Barton," Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York, NY 1958: Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York, NY United States Pavilion, Brussels World's Fair, Belgium 1956: "Craftsmanship in a Changing World," Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York, NY Finger Lakes Annual, Rochester, NY (First Prize) 1955: Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York, NY 1954: "American Designers," Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY Finger Lakes Annual, Rochester, NY (D'Amanda Award) 1953: "Designer Craftsmen, U.S.A. 1953," Brooklyn Museum, NY (traveled) 1952: Finger Lakes Annual, Rochester, NY (First Prize) 5th Annual Arts & Crafts Competition and Graphic Arts Exhibition, Los Angeles, CA (First Prize) 1949: 4th Annual Decorative Arts and Ceramics Exhibition, Wichita Art Association, KS (First Prize)

Awards and honors

1992: gold medal for consummate craftsmanship from the American Craft Council 1986: awarded National Endowment for the Arts grant 1977: elected Fellow of the American Crafts Council 1968–1977: elected trustee, Performing and Visual Arts Society, New York City, New York 1964: featured artist/craftsman, New York World's Fair, sponsored by American Educational Council panel and participant, First World Congress of Craftsmen at Columbia University 1956: Lillian Fairchild Award for Creative Achievement, Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY Juror: "Midwest Designer/Craftsmen," Milwaukee, WI