Robert Lee Morris facts for kids

Robert Lee Morris (born 1947) is an American artist who designs jewelry and creates sculptures. He gets a lot of his ideas from nature, like the shapes of plants and animals. He also imagines what jewelry might look like in a society far in the future.

Morris uses materials like gold, silver, and bronze in his designs. He is famous for his special 24-carat matte gold plating and for using rich, deep red copper and green colors on his metal pieces. He has worked with many well-known fashion designers, including Geoffrey Beene, Calvin Klein, Anne Klein, and Donna Karan. Robert Lee Morris has won important awards, such as the Coty Award in 1981 and the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 from the CFDA.

Early Life and Learning

Robert Lee Morris was born in 1947 in Nuremberg, Germany. His parents were there because his father was in the US Air Force after World War II. When he was nine, his family moved to Japan for four years. Later, they lived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

He finished college at Beloit College in 1969 with high honors. After college, he settled in Bellows Falls, Vermont. There, he lived in a community and started learning how to work with metal.

In 1971, a gallery owner from New York named Joan Sonnabend discovered his talent. She showed his work for the first time at her art jewelry shop. This shop was located in the famous Plaza Hotel and was called Sculpture to Wear.

His Creative Career

Artwear Gallery Opens

After Sculpture to Wear closed in 1977, Robert Lee Morris opened his own gallery. He called it Artwear Gallery. The first location was at 28 East 74th Street on the Upper East Side of New York City. This area was close to many famous fashion design houses.

In August 1978, Artwear Gallery moved to SoHo. This new location was surrounded by many modern art galleries. The move also brought in new famous customers. These included Madonna, Cher, Oprah Winfrey, and fashion designers like Issey Miyake and Geoffrey Beene. Other jewelry designers, such as Ted Muehling, also showed their work at Artwear Gallery. In the 1980s, Morris's own jewelry was known for its "modern urban warrior" style. It often looked like ancient or tribal art.

Working with Fashion Designers

Robert Lee Morris's career really took off after he was featured on the cover of Vogue magazine in 1976. His jewelry has appeared in many issues of Vogue over the years.

In 1985, he worked with fashion designer Donna Karan on her very first collection. Karan's clothes were smooth, simple, and luxurious. Morris designed large, sculptural gold jewelry that looked natural and organic. These pieces perfectly matched her clothing. He has also worked with other top designers like Karl Lagerfeld, Kansai Yamamoto, Calvin Klein, and Michael Kors.

Morris also designed the "Gold" perfume bottle for Donna Karan, which is sold by Estée Lauder. In 1990, he created a special edition lipstick and compact for Elizabeth Arden.

Jewelry for Everyone

In the 1990s and 2000s, Morris started a fine jewelry line called RLM Collection. This line was sold on QVC, a television shopping channel. He still has a presence on QVC today, selling his RLM Studio designs. These pieces are made only for QVC customers.

Awards and Recognition

In 2007, Robert Lee Morris made history. He was the first jewelry designer to receive the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). This award celebrates a designer's long and successful career. He also won the Coty Award in 1981 for his jewelry collection designed for Calvin Klein. In addition, he received two other CFDA Awards for accessory design in 1985 and 1994.

In 2008, Morris created a jewelry collection for the clothing line Elizabeth & James. This line was started by actresses Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

In 2011, a company called Haskell Jewels, LLC bought Robert Lee Morris's business. In September 2012, Morris launched his "Soho" line in department stores across the country. His more expensive "Collection" line also launched in September 2012 at fine jewelry stores. To promote these new lines, Morris ran his first national advertising campaign in major American fashion magazines like Vogue, W Magazine, and Elle.

In 2017, MAC Cosmetics worked with Morris to create a special, limited collection of makeup products.