Jessie Preston

Private Collection, Chicago, circa 1905
Thence by descent
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Jessie M. Preston Scrapbook, Ryerson & Burnham Archives, Art Institute of Chicago, circa 1911-1943, accession no. 2005.3 (for a period article describing the work of Jessie Preston and a drawing of the present model)
Thomas K. Maher, The Jarvie Shop: The Candlesticks and Metalwork of Robert R. Jarvie, Philmont, NY, 1997, p. 126 (for a related example)
Judith A. Barter, Apostles of Beauty: Arts and Crafts from Britain to Chicago, Chicago, 2009, p. 162 (for a related example in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago)

Jessie Preston, a contemporary of Robert Jarvie, was a well-known metalsmith and artist working in Chicago. Preston was born in Oak Park and studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, where she exhibited her work between 1902-1911. Preston operated a studio in Chicago's Fine Arts Building from 1900-1918. Although Jarvie's studio was located in this same building between 1905-1908, the two artists never formally worked together. Preston's repertoire is comparatively far more limited than Jarvie's, and surviving examples of her metalwork are exceedingly rare. Although best known for her unique candlestick designs, Preston's elaborate floriform candelabra represent her most accomplished masterworks in the medium. Their sinuous, graceful lines clearly display Preston's strong connection to the Art Nouveau style.