Louise Parrish --- Master Goldsmith

A Patron of the Arts

Artist Louise Parrish (December 20th, 1925-September 18th, 2008) was passionate about classical jewelry her entire life.

As an educator, Parrish taught ancient and classical jewelry at the Kulicke Stark Academy of Jewelry Arts and later at the Jewelry Arts Institute in New York City from 1974 until her death.

As a preservationist and highly skilled goldsmith, Parrish restored pre-Colombian gold artifacts and jewelry from personal collections and institutions alike. As an artist, Parrish specialized in classical techniques and aesthetics inspired by Roman, Egyptian, Greek, Byzantine, ancient Hebrew, and medieval jewelry, working almost exclusively in high-karat gold.  

Parrish and her lifelong friend Winifred Wager came together in 1976 to create pieces both under their joint brand and individually. While works from Parrish/Wager were commissioned by institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, perhaps most notably, George Balanchine contacted the pair to create brooches for the New York City Ballet dancers and again later for major donors to the organization in the 1980s. George Balanchine loved the commissions so much that he requested a cross pendant, which he is said to have worn daily.

The jewelry from the collection of Master Goldsmith Louise Parrish are works all her own.  Created in the mid-1980s to late-1990s, this Byzantine-style jewelry collection represents her artistry's culmination.

Louise Parrish passed away in 2008, making this collection some of the final pieces that Louise would design. Winifred Wager presents these pieces as homage to her dear friend and teacher.