Betty Cooke
Necksculpture
c.1976
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Betty Cooke
Necksculpture
c.1976
Physical Qualities
Sterling silver, 9 1/4 x 17 x 1 1/8 in. (23.5 x 43.2 x 2.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Barbara Katz, Baltimore
Object Number
2019.7
Working across sculpture and design, Betty Cooke reimagined jewelry as a dynamic, body-centered art form. Crafted in sterling silver, Necksculpture suspends discs from a necklace that, when worn, seem to orbit the collarbone. Through her decades-long teaching career at MICA, Cooke strengthened the school’s emphasis on material experimentation and interdisciplinary practice while establishing Baltimore as a center of innovative contemporary design.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 2019; Barbara Katz through purchase, early 2000s; Barbara Cooke's retail location in Baltimore
The Walters Art Museum, "Betty Cooke: The Circle and the Line", September 19, 2021-February 6, 2022.
Antoinette Roberts and Cecilia Wichmann, with Oscar Flores Montero, and Dylan Kaleikaumaka Hill, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "BMA Celebrates MICA 200," May 16, 2026 to Janurary 3, 2027.
Antoinette Roberts and Cecilia Wichmann, with Oscar Flores Montero, and Dylan Kaleikaumaka Hill, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "BMA Celebrates MICA 200," May 16, 2026 to Janurary 3, 2027.
Falino, Jeannine. The Circle and the Line: the Jewelry of Betty Cooke. Baltimore, MD: The Walters Art Museum, 2020. ill.
Markings: Stamp: "STERLING COOKE" appears on two pendants
On View: Contemporary Wing Second Floor, Gallery 01
