Episode 24: Pushing the Art Jewelry Movement Forward with Donna Schneier, Owner of Donna Schneier Fine Arts

Donna Schneier, owner of Donna Schneier Fine Arts, is a private dealer exhibiting at several major art fairs, including Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design (SOFA) and Art Palm Beach. She has donated more than 130 works to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. A selection of those pieces was presented in The Met’s book, Unique by Design: Contemporary Jewelry in the Donna Schneier Collection, to accompany a six-month exhibition. Other pieces have been featured in The Met’s “Jewelry: The Body Transformed” and “Masterpieces” exhibitions.
Donna has continually donated work to the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), NYC, and other museums in the United States and Europe to spread the story of contemporary art jewelry. Her collections include works of art jewelry from the late 1960s to the present.
She is also one of the founders and creators of “LOOT: Mad About Jewelry,” an annual benefit exhibition and sale for Museum of Arts and Design, featuring designs from more than 50 emerging and acclaimed international jewelry artists, and “BIJOUX!,” a daring art-jewelry sale that raises money for Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida.
In 2000, Donna was recruited by Neue Pinakothek, Munich—the only museum to devote an entire floor to contemporary art jewelry—to locate American masters of contemporary jewelry. She was able to identify and purchase for the museum masterpieces by Alexander Calder, Margaret De Patta, and Robert Ebendorf, among others.
Donna is a frequent lecturer, has appeared on shows such as Antiques Roadshow and the TODAY show, and has been featured in Forbes, New York Times, Antiques and Auction Magazine and more.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
Why you should educate yourself about jewelry and art pieces first, before making a purchase.
Why it is more difficult to build a collection of masterpieces today than it was in the 1980s.
How she decides what artists to bring into her gallery.
Why the art jewelry movement will continue to move forward and grow in the future.
How to contact Donna Schneier:
Website: www.donnaschneier.com
Additional Resources:
The Met Exhibition: http://lescarats.com/2019/01/10/jewelry-the-body-transformed-at-the-met/
The Met Publication: Unique by Design: Contemporary Jewelry in the Donna Schneier Collection by Suzanne Ramljak: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/uniquebydesigncontemporaryjewelryinthedonnaschneiercollection