Taft Anniversary Necklace

1991

Taft Anniversary Necklace, 1991. John Paul Miller (American, 1918–2013). Gold; 50 x 3.5 x 1 cm (19 11/16 x 1 3/8 x 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Frances P. Taft, Trustee of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1973-2017 2017.202 The Taft Anniversary Necklace was commissioned by Seth Taft as a gift for his wife on their golden anniversary of 50 years of marriage. Miller had previously created two smaller, less ambitious works in this “gold nugget” or “fragment” style in 1971 and 1986, but the Taft necklace synthesizes his understanding of weight, balance, texture, and form in a way unlike any other work before or after. It is a masterwork of goldsmithing and represents a pinnacle in his career. Drawings and preliminary studies exist for this work within the CMA archives.