Henry Shawah papers
name: label: Creator
content: Shawah, Henry, 1920-
topic: label: Occupation
content: Goldsmiths -- Massachusetts -- Boston
label: Occupation
content: Sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Boston
label: Occupation
content: Jewelers -- Massachusetts -- Boston
label: Topic
content: Jewelry -- Design
label: Topic
content: Arts and crafts movement
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated in 2024 by Judith Metro, Henry Shawah's niece.
creator: label: Creator
content: Shawah, Henry, 1920-
setName: label: See more items in
content: Henry Shawah papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of goldsmith and sculptor Henry Shawah date from circa 1939-2020, and measure 3.0 linear feet and 4.88 gigabytes. They document his work in Boston and Nantucket, as well as exhibitions in London, England. Found within the collection is biographical material; correspondence with clients, colleagues, and patrons; planning documents and reviews of exhibitions of Shawah's work; personal business records including financial statements, inventories of gems, stones, and completed projects, documentation of Shawah's goldsmith practices, design sketches, lecture notes, and an unpublished manuscript; printed advertisements for Shawah's studio, as well as magazine and newspaper clippings and an article in Craft Horizon about Shawah's work; and photographs of many of Shawah's individual jewelry and sculpture pieces. The collection also includes born-digital records consisting of digital images of Shawah's work and digital video recordings of Shawah discussing goldsmithing in the context of a show of early Irish art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as well as a documentary about his work as a goldsmith.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Goldsmith and sculptor Henry Shawah (1920-2009) lived and worked in Boston and Nantucket, Massachusetts, as well as spending time in Tucson, Arizona. He primarily designed jewelry for clients and also used his goldsmith techniques to create sculptures and objets d'art. The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in London, England hosted an exhibit of Shawah's work in 1970 and 1973 and named him an Associate in 1981.  

Shawah was born in Danbury Connecticut in 1920. After serving in the Navy during World War II, he earned a certificate in Interior Design from the Pratt Institute, a Bachelors degree in Arts Education at Boston University, and a Master of Fine Arts from Columbia University. 

Shawah set up a studio on Nantucket Island in 1953, before moving to 14B Eliot Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1960. At these studios he designed rings, pins, necklaces, and earrings for clients. In the 1970s he moved to his final studio on Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge. He worked closely with many clients, including prominent arts philanthropist Agnes Gund and cookbook author and television personality Julia Child.  

In 2009 Shawah published a monograph, Henry Shawah: Goldsmith and Sculptor. He died later that year at his home in Cambridge.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 3 Linear Feet
label: Extent
content: 4.88 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1939-2020
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.shawhenr
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Motion picture film
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Video recordings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 6 series. 


Series 1: Biographical Material, 1939-1994 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)  


Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1959-2008 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)  


Series 3: Exhibition Files, circa 1958-2020 (0.2 linear feet: Box 1; 0.507 gigabytes: ER0001)  


Series 4: Personal Business Records, circa 1950-2020 (0.7 linear feet: Boxes 1-2; 2.14 

 gigabytes: ER0002) 


Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1959-1989 (0.1 linear feet; Box 2)  


Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1950-2020 (1.3 linear feet: Boxes 2-3; 2.23 gigabytes: ER0003)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: This collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Caroline Anderson-Gray in 2025
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Motion picture film
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of goldsmith and sculptor Henry Shawah date from circa 1939-2020, and measure 3.0 linear feet and 4.88 gigabytes.  

Biographical material includes diplomas, resumes, and transcripts, Shawah's Navy discharge papers, and a certificate, menu, and photographs from his appointment as an Associate of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths.  Correspondence includes letters between Shawah and clients, colleagues, and patrons, as well as with representatives of the Worshipful Order of the Goldsmiths.  

Exhibition files consist of planning documents, reviews, and correspondence about Shawah's early exhibitions, shows at Goldsmiths' Hall in London, at his studio on Nantucket, and at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The series also includes a documentary film regarding the 1978 show Shawah participated in, as a digital video recording, as well as the original 16mm film.   

Personal business records includes financial records, inventories, information about Shawah's goldsmithing techniques, professional contact information, records related to studio openings, design sketches for commissioned jewelry projects, drafts of the unpublished Handbook of Design, and lecture notes from design courses Shawah taught. It also includes a digital video recording of a film documenting Shawah's work as a goldsmith.  

Printed Material includes advertisements for Shawah's goldsmith studio, an article about him in Craft Horizon magazine, and other magazine and newspaper clippings about his work.  

Photographic material includes prints and negatives of many of Shawah's projects, including a salt cellar for Julia Child and assorted pins, rings, sculptures, and objets d'art for other clients. The series includes digital photographs of artwork that were originally captured on slide, as well as an unidentified video recording.