Stanley Lechtzin (born 1936) is an American artist, jeweler, metalsmith and educator. He is noted for his work in

electroforming Electroforming is a metal forming process in which parts are fabricated through electrodeposition on a model, known in the industry as a mandrel. Conductive (metallic) mandrels are treated to create a mechanical parting layer, or are chemically p ...

and

computer aided design Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve co ...

(CAD) and computer aided manufacture (CAM). He has taught at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

in the

Tyler School of Art and Architecture The Tyler School of Art and Architecture is based at Temple University, a large, urban, public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tyler currently enrolls about 1,350 undergraduate students and about 200 graduate students in a wid ...

, from 1962.

Early life and education

Stanley was born in 1936 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

, to an observant Jewish family. He first encountered jewelry and metalsmithing at

Cass Technical High School Cass Technical High School (simply referred to as Cass Tech) is a public high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States.

. After high school Lechtzin worked as a draftsman and cartographer. While working for the City of Detroit Public Lighting Commission he realized that he did not want to continue that career path, so he began taking night courses at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

in Detroit. He set up a studio and began taking commissions upon graduation. He soon entered the

Cranbrook Academy of Art The Cranbrook Educational Community is an education, research, and public museum complex in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This National Historic Landmark was founded in the early 20th century by newspaper mogul George Gough Booth. It consists of C ...

, where much of his graduate work dealt with ferrous metals and stainless steel flatware.

Career

Upon graduation from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Lechtzin accepted a teaching position in 1962 at

Tyler School of Art The Tyler School of Art and Architecture is based at Temple University, a large, urban, public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tyler currently enrolls about 1,350 undergraduate students and about 200 graduate students in a wid ...

at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lechtzin was one of nine founding members of the . In 2009, he was awarded the SNAG Lifetime Achievement Award. His work can be found in public museum collections including at the

Museum of Arts and Design The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the mus ...

, the

Cooper-Hewitt Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum housed within the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile. It is one of 19 museums that fall under the wing of the Smithsonian Inst ...

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds ...

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is the oldest university art museum in the Western Hemisphere. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. ...

, and the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin ...

Solo exhibitions

Select list of solo exhibitions * 2009: The Philadelphia Art Alliance * 1984: The University of Pittsburgh Art Gallery * 1984: Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art (Loretto, PA) * 1984: William Penn Museum (Harrisburg, PA) * 1984: The Works Gallery (Philadelphia) * 1973: Tyler School of Art, Temple University * 1973: Goldsmiths' Hall (London, England) * 1969: Boston Museum School (Boston, Mass.) * 1969: Ball State University (Muncie, Indiana) * 1969: Lee Nordness Galleries (New York, NY) * 1968: William Penn Museum (Harrisburg, PA) * 1967: University of California (Berkeley, CA) * 1966: Pennsylvania State University (State College, PA) * 1965: Museum of Contemporary Crafts (New York, NY) * 1963: Art Center, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (Michigan) * 1962: Carnegie Institute of Technology (Pittsburgh, PA.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lechtzin, Stanley 1936 births Living people Artists from Detroit American jewellers Jewish American artists Wayne State University alumni Cranbrook Academy of Art alumni Temple University faculty 21st-century American Jews