Born in 1930, Drutt emerged as a modern, confident woman in the 1960s. A devoted mother of two children, she was soon acknowledged as one of the pioneering gallerists and educationalists in the country. In 1973, she opened her eponymous gallery in Philadelphia – one of the first of its kind in the United States. She soon had a reputation as a conscientious chronicler and committed collector, who at the end of the 1980s was already being asked to put forward the names of US and Canadian artists whom she felt should be considered for SCHMUCK during the Internationale Handwerksmesse in Munich.
For 60 years now she is a passionate observer and collector of this specific art of ‘en miniature’ in form of contemporary jewelry. In her hands, it becomes a means of communication and of diplomacy for overcoming social, political, and religious differences using the language of art. Drutt easily donned the role of charming, dedicated, confident, unique bridge-builder who brought continents closer together.
The scope of her collection covers pieces by the well-known US jewelry artists of the late 1960s, as well as contemporary works by the younger generation of goldsmiths such as Melanie Bilenker, Aaron Decker, and Zachary Mellman-Carsey.
The curated overview of the Helen W. Drutt Collection highlights all in all 240 different artworks and is with a selection of 140 American pieces an instructive introduction to US jewelry history, ranging from the narrative position of Ken Cory to the well-known sculptors and painters Claire Falkenstein and Louise Nevelson. Then there is Albert Paley, whose innovative brooches incorporated references to a broad spectrum of jewelry history; J. Fred Woell, who used non-precious materials and found commercial relics; and Thomas Gentille, whose works utilize unconventional jewelry materials such as eggshell, wood and resin. It was John Paul Miller who introduced the granulation technique to the US. The collection familiarizes us with Eleanor Moty, whose works would be inconceivable without the high art of gem polishing practiced by Tom Munsteiner from Idar-Oberstein. Refined gold-silver surfaces were created by Toni Goessler-Snyder, born in Germany – an almost unknown in Europe. Key representatives of the narrative world greet us in Munich in the persons of Kiff Slemmons, siblings Donald Paul and Merrily Tompkins, Keith Lewis, Judy Onofrio, Laurie Hall, and Robin Kranitzky & Kim Overstreet. Often their works demonstrate the use of found objects, recycled materials, glass stones, and all manner of plastics, and at the same time reflect and comment on social and political events.
These pieces are juxtaposed with the works of artists such as Jamie Bennett, William Harper, Sondra Sherman and Helen Shirk, whose artistic and perfectly crafted works employ classic metalworking techniques.
This raft of the most outstanding names in US contemporary jewelry stands alongside renowned German artists represented in the Helen W. Drutt Collection, of which 97 objects are featured by artists including Hermann Jünger, Claus Bury, Manfred Bischoff, Helen Britton, David Bielander, Georg Dobler, Christiane Förster, Therese Hilbert, Mirjam Hiller, Otto Künzli, Falko Marx, Dorothea Prühl, Gerd Rothmann, Bettina Speckner, and Wolli The Kid (alias Wolfgang Lieglein).
Seen, admired, acquired, passionately worn–these works speak of their owner’s ardent devotion to them, and her propensity to wear them is central to her being. Fully in keeping with “Among Friends”, this devotion likewise applies to selecting truly the right setting to don creations by US jewelry legends in Munich and conversely wear works by German protagonists in Philadelphia and New York–convinced their visual appearance will create a dialogue that informs one about the field.

The publication has been made possible by the exceptional generosity of the Benno und Therese Danner’sche Kunstgewerbestiftung München and is being produced by arnoldsche Art Publishers, Stuttgart. The graphic design is once again the brainchild of Ina Bauer, Stuttgart.