Designing for Doris

Designing for Doris was a collaboration between NRF and David Webb New York, jewelry designer to NRF’s founder, Doris Duke, and many other prominent figures from 1948 to the present. The exhibition highlighted the parallels between seemingly dissonant archival materials: exacting hand-drawn architectural plans and painterly sketches of bespoke jewelry. Thirty drawings, several pieces of David Webb jewelry, and related artifacts occupied a single jewel box gallery, underscoring the breadth of Duke’s diverse interests and her transformative influence in art, design, and preservation from the late 1950s through the 1970s.