Cocktail Set, Model 326

1930

Russel Wright
American, 1904–1976

In 1930 Russel Wright established a workshop in New York City and began producing informal serving accessories, including this cocktail service. His design reveals the great allure that streamlined forms had during the 1930s: one reviewer commented that “cylindrical and spherical forms are indicative of the speed of our age.” Wright nonetheless incorporated practical features into his design; his workshop marketed these aluminum accessories as “featherweight,” so that “even the frailest hostess finds no difficulty in handling” them. In addition, the cork feet of the glasses provide built-in coasters, while the shaker’s cork-covered neck doubles as an insulated handle. Despite Wright’s goal of reaching a wide audience through mass production, his Cocktail Set was completely handmade, and great variations exist between known examples.

Status: On View, Gallery 264
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: Russel Wright
Title: Cocktail Set, Model 326
Place: United States (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1930
Medium: Spun aluminum and cork
Dimensions: Tray: 29.2 × 15.2 cm (11 1/2 × 6 in.); Shaker: 29.2 × 15.2 cm (11 1/2 × 6 in.); Cups, ea: 14.9 × 7.3 cm (5 7/8 × 2 7/8 in.)
Credit Line: Through prior bequest of Arthur Rubloff
Reference Number: 2009.1035.1-8

Annual Report (Art Institute of Chicago, 2009–10): 13.
Judith Barter et al., Art and Appetite: American Painting, Culture, and Cuisine, exh. cat. (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2013), 229, cat. 94 (ill.), as Cocktail Set (model 326).
Judith A. Barter, Elizabeth McGoey, et al., American Silver in the Art Institute of Chicago (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016), 20, fig. 12 (ill.).

Art Institute of Chicago, Art and Appetite: American Painting, Culture, and Cuisine, Nov. 10, 2013–Jan. 27, 2014, cat. 94; Fort Worth, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Feb. 22–May 18, 2014 (Chicago only), as Cocktail Set (model 326).

Sold, Wright Auctions, Chicago, Dec. 8, 2009, lot 201, to the Art Institute of Chicago.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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