Joseph Heinrich

The following five lots were executed by Joseph Heinrich, an American metalwork designer about which relatively little is known.  Based in New York at the turn of the century, he produced a variety of copper and silver objects that were retailed by prominent firms such as Shreve, Crump & Low Company and Black, Starr & Frost.  He is also recorded as maintaining his own retail establishment in New York during the early decades of the twentieth century.  Heinrich's oeuvre expresses an uniquely "American" aesthetic, achieved through the artist's distinct use of materials and imagery associated with Native American culture.  This national romanticist bent is evident in the Indian busts, antler handles and spear heads incorporated into the design of the following lots.  His works are in the collections of several major museums, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Dallas Museum of Art.