Merry Renk

One of the pioneers of the American Modern jewelry movement, Merry Renk opened the 750 Studio showcasing contemporary painting, photography, sculpture, textiles, and jewelry in 1947, while attending the Institute of Design in Chicago. The gallery featured the work of Doris Hall, Moholy-Nagy, Margaret De Patta, Merry Renk, Lenore Tawney, and Robert Von Neuman among others. In 1948, Renk moved to San Francisco to become a full time jeweler and was a founding member of the San Francisco Metal Arts Guild. The San Francisco Art Commission presented Renk an Award of Honor for her "extraordinary contributions to the Bay Area community" and she has also been named fellow by the American Craft Council. Her oral history is held by the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution. Renk is currently focusing on drawing and painting with watercolors, and is working on a journal of her life.