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Erik Magnussen, Cubic Coffee Service. The Gorham Collection. Gift of Textron Inc.

Gorham Silver

Designing Brilliance 1850-1970
May 3 - December 1, 2019
Erik Magnussen, Cubic Coffee Service. The Gorham Collection. Gift of Textron Inc.

Introduction

When Jabez Gorham founded a small workshop a few blocks from here in 1831, handcrafted silver spoons were a principal product of his business. When the RISD Museum acquired a Gorham spoon in 1909, it marked the beginning of a collection of works by the Gorham Manufacturing Company that today comprises nearly 5,000 objects and design drawings. This exhibition-assembled from the museum’s collection with important loans from other institutions and private collections-illuminates the heights of Gorham’s industry, ambition, artistry, technology, and innovation.

The Gorham Manufacturing Company was an inimitable force in the city of Providence and around the globe, boldly growing into the largest silver company in the world. Gorham created some of the most exceptional works ever made in silver, forever changing the landscape of American decorative arts. The company also profoundly changed Rhode Island by training and employing generations of highly skilled workers and, like many local industries, leaving behind a complicated legacy. Visit the Gorham Workbench in this gallery and access the Soundwalk tour (information at right) to learn about the company’s impact on the community, labor practices, and the environment. Accompanied by a major publication (Rizzoli) with stunning new imagery and recent research, the exhibition will travel to the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Spanning 120 years, the objects on view here testify to the undiminished brilliance of Gorham’s workers as they collaboratively translated ideas into gleaming new realities, the restless innovation of the company’s leaders, and a dazzling array of aesthetic styles.

Elizabeth Williams, David and Peggy Rockefeller Curator of Decorative Arts and Design

Gorham Silver: Designing Brilliance 1850–1970 is made possible by a sponsoring grant from the Henry Luce Foundation with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the RISD Museum Associates, Textron Inc., the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, Joseph A. Chazan, MD, Virginia and Alan Nathan, Cindy and Scott Burns, and a generous in-kind gift from Spencer Marks, Ltd. Educational programming associated with the exhibition is made possible by a lead sponsorship from the Zennovation Fund and generous additional support from Victoria Veh.

The RISD Museum is supported by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and with the generous partnership of the Rhode Island School of Design, its Board of Trustees, and the RISD Museum Board of Governors.

In Gallery

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Gorham Silver

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Exhibition images

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Events

  • Talks and Conversations

Faculty Forum

Kai Franz
November 6, 2019 / 12-1 pm
  • Talks and Conversations /
  • In the Making /
  • Workshops and studios

Silver in the Making

November 2, 2019 / 10 am-3 pm
  • Other events /
  • Talks and Conversations

Echoes of the Gorham Manufacturing Company

Walking Tour
October 27, 2019 / 11 am-12:30 pm
  • Talks and Conversations /
  • In the Making /
  • Workshops and studios

Silver in the Making

October 26, 2019 / 10 am-3 pm
  • Talks and Conversations /
  • In the Making /
  • Workshops and studios

Silver in the Making

October 19, 2019 / 10 am-3 pm
  • Talks and Conversations

Annual Sellie Bernstingle Lecture | Gerald M. Carbone

October 15, 2019 / 11 am-12 pm
  • More events +

Publications

  • Books

Gorham Silver Designing Brilliance 1850-1970

A survey of America's preeminent maker of fine silver and its legacy of exceptional design and innovation in the decorative arts.

Articles

Gorham Silver: A Responsive Approach to Interpretation

The history of the Gorham Manufacturing Company is intertwined with that of Providence and Rhode Island.

Gorhan Silver: A Responsive Approach to Interpretation
Silver Lining

Gorham silver cleaning project leads to unexpected student collaboration and learning.

(Re)tracing the Silver Seaweed: A Maker's Process
Lillian E. Webster is an artist and metalsmith with an MA in Spanish Literature and an MFA in Jewelry/Metals. She was the 2016 Andrew W. Mellon Summer Curatorial Intern in Decorative Arts and Design at the RISD Museum.

This salad spoon and fork set, made by the Gorham Manufacturing Company ca. 1885, is named after the coastal town of Narragansett, Rhode Island.

Surprise Endings: Gorham Silver's Mythologique

This rare example of Gorham's "Mythologique" flatware service was purposefully left unfinished as they are samples, combining elaborate hand-worked detail with mechanized brute force.

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Videos

Audio

Reverberations

Shorts

Gorham Silver

Shorts

Gorham Workbench / Hammering & Raising

Shorts

Gorham Workbench / Spinning

Shorts

Gorham Workbench / Chasing & Repoussé

Shorts

Gorham Workbench / Engraving

Shorts

Gorham Workbench / Stamping

Shorts

Gorham Workbench / Casting

Video

Gorham Silver

Video

Silver Lining

Related Objects

Gorham Manufacturing Company

Salt Spoons

Gorham Manufacturing Company

Black Coffeepot

Gorham Manufacturing Company

Match safe

Gorham Manufacturing Company

Salad Servers

Gorham Manufacturing Company

Match Safe

Gorham Manufacturing Company

Ice Cream Stand
  • More objects +

Gorham Silver : Designing Brilliance 1850-1970

May 3 - December 1, 2019
Download Checklist pdf

Gorham Silver : Designing Brilliance 1850-1970

May 3 - December 1, 2019
Download Press Release pdf

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