Earl Pardon’s ‘Portable Art’ has its day at the High Museum

The war was over for Earl Pardon, but back home he faced a new battle.

Along with millions of soldiers from World War II, he had to find a way to re-invent himself. Pardon, having returned to Memphis from Germany, decided he wanted to be a painter.

At the time, artists were not a plentiful bunch, but growing dissatisfaction with mass produced goods and benefits of the G.I. bill would give Pardon a role in the burgeoning studio craft movement — a return to the traditional materials and methods of art making.

After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting and taking metalsmithing workshops provided through the G.I. Bill, Pardon became known for his hand-crafted jewelry and enameling techniques. He was also a dedicated teacher, whose career as a professor would overshadow his work as an artist.

His art is the focus of a new exhibition at the High Museum of Art which runs Saturday through June 6. Featuring 110 works, Earl Pardon’s “Portable Art”: Jewelry and Design, charts his contributions to metalsmithing and design while offering insight into Pardon’s process and progress as an artist.

“He never repeats himself,” said curator Sarah Schleuning, noting that it was difficult to edit his work. “The fact that there is a lot of quality is what the [studio craft] movement is about.”

Organized by theme rather than chronology, the exhibition depicts Pardon’s restlessness as an artist. He was exploratory and would revisit techniques or materials over time, but always presented them in different ways, Schleuning said. Pardon was inspired by his students, his travels, and most notably, the wearers of his portable art. “He was really interested in the role of the wearer. The wearer as a participant,” Schleuning said.

Pardon’s jewelry often features bursts of color. He adorned all surfaces and gave attention to the smallest details. Rings and pins that could be worn in multiple ways or pendants with small drawings on the back were designed to actively involve the wearer. Enamel — an art form that was dying in the post-WWII era — would become Pardon’s hallmark such as a series of bracelets that features enameling and abalone with silver and gold.

Pardon said he preferred to work with hard materials and he found ways to merge his training as a painter with his metalsmithing skills. He painted onto enamel or drew forms in metal. While many of his designs feature geometrical shapes, he also embraced the human form. His sketchbooks on display show how a grouping of compressed figures ended up on a series of rings and bracelets. During his travels to Italy in the 1980’s, Pardon discovered ancient safety pins, which inspired a series in which he experimented with closures and colors.

Despite winning awards for his metal work, Pardon, who earned an Master of Fine Arts degree from Syracuse University, is most remembered as an educator and art advocate. In 1951, he began working as an assistant professor at Skidmore College where he would teach for more than 30 years.

A brief turn at Towle Silversmiths in Massachusetts ended when Pardon realized he preferred to design without the constraints of utility or economy. Still, he managed during his time there to bring enameling techniques to flatware, plates, bowls, warming pots and more which are part of the collection at the Museum.

Throughout his career, Pardon worked in a range of scale creating everything from sculpture to cuff links. He also continued to paint, but he was a maker at heart, said Schleuning. Though he was represented by two galleries, including Connell Gallery in Atlanta, Pardon shied away from heavy self-promotion. Many locals became collectors, but they may not know his larger story, she said.

The exhibition, the third in a series of jewelry-focused exhibitions the High has presented since the 2013 Gogo Ferguson exhibition, is an opportunity for visitors to view Pardon’s work in an accessible way. “He is well loved by a lot of people, but undermined as a subject,” Schleuning said. “[The exhibition] is a great start to get his work out there.”