Merle Boyer

Merle Newport Boyer (9 May 1920 – 29 Aug 2009) was an American modernist studio art jeweler and sculptor, as well as inventor, machinist, teacher and mentor.

Life Hand-wrought Sterling Silver Earrings with Pearls, 1950s. Hatsue Higa Collection. Boyer was born in Portland, Oregon. He graduated from Bradley Polytechnic Institute in Peoria, Illinois, where he took courses in horology, engraving and jewelry design before moving to territorial Honolulu in 1940. There he began working for C. G. Benny as a watchmaker and engraver. he presented his work in Academy-sponsored shows, exhibitions and demonstrations throughout the war years.

In 1949 and 1950 he participated in juried shows sponsored by the Honolulu Academy of Arts, winning recognition for his work in sculpture.

Boyer opened his first jewelry studio on Fort St. in downtown Honolulu in 1950,

He was active in Hawai`i's craft and art community throughout the 1950's, serving as President and Vice President of the Hawaii Craft Association, and teaching courses in jewelry at the Honolulu Academy of Arts School.

Pieces using silver and baroque pearl and black coral are among his most widely circulated. Boyer used a variety of marks. Mid century pieces may be marked: Boyer, Hawaii, or Sterling, alone or in combination.

During the 1950ʻs and into the 1960ʻs Boyer participated in exhibitions highlighting the mid-century modernist work of studio jewelers, to include the American Jewelry and Related Objects in Huntington, West Virginia. the National Decorating Arts-Ceramics Exhibition in Wichita (the Wichita National); the Walker exhibition on paper, presented through Design Quarterly; and the Contemporary Craftsmen of the Far West at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts, NY in 1961, and its subsequent traveling show the following year.

His original pieces were sold in venues such as the John Young Gallery in Waikiki, where he took proprietorship in 1959,

His approach to his art is featured in the 1969 KHET TV special, “Metals,” part of the PBS series, Directions in Design. thumb Hand-wrought silver pendant and chain. Hatsue Higa Collection.

Exhibitions 1942: Oct 18-Nov 7, Honolulu Academy of Arts.

1943: Oct 19-Nov 14, Juried Craft Exhibit, Honolulu Academy of Arts

1949: Mar 3-Mar 16, Juried Art Show; Honolulu Academy of Arts,

1953: “The Craftsmen Fair,” Honolulu Craftsmen Association.

1954: 9th National Decorating Arts-Ceramics Exhibition, Wichita Art Association, Wichita, KS.

1973: May 1–3, Honolulu Academy of Arts

2005-2006: Oct 28-Feb 13, Jewelry of Hawaii: Art and Artifice in Paradise, Honolulu Academy of Arts.