Henry Steig

Was born in 1906 in New York City and grew up in the Bronx. He studied at CCNY and the National Academy of Design. After stints as a musician, cartoonist, writer, and photography, he decided in the late 40s to make jewelry. He took a few evening classes but was mostly self-taught, and within a year was selling jewelry from his West 9th Street apartment. In 1950 he opened a New York City shop in Greenwich Village, where there were several talented craftsmen who already had established shops. Among them were Sam Kramer, Frank Miraglia, Frank Rebajes, George Salo, Paul Voltaire, Ed Weiner, Bill Tendler, Art Smith and Paul Lobel. Basically, the who’s who of the American modernist movement. In 1953 he moved his NYC shop to 52nd and Lexington. In 1954 the iconic scene of Marilyn Monroe's white dress blowing up in the movie Seven Year Itch was shot right in front of his store. See the last photo. Steig closed the New York store in 1963 and moved to Provincetown with his wife Mimi. In 1972 he sold his designs and the shop to a Chicago jeweler, Jan Dee, and died a year later. He worked mostly with silver in his early years but focused on gold later in his life. Many people in the arts came to Henry Steig’s shops. His son, Michael remembers that Ella Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Taylor were among the celebrities who purchased Steig jewelry. He also remembers seeing Edward G. Robinson in the Provincetown shop.