L. Brent Kington (July 26, 1934 – February 7, 2013) was an art educator and visual artist who worked in blacksmithing and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. Kington was a product of the studio craft movement in jewelry and hollowware. In 1969 he served as the first president of the

Society of North American Goldsmiths Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) is an organization of jewelers and metal artists in North America. It is located in Eugene, Oregon. Foundation The Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) was founded in Chicago in 1969. It was f ...

. He is frequently hailed as the man responsible for the blacksmithing revival which took place in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Biography and career

Kington taught at

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Chartered in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. SIU enrolls students from all 50 sta ...

from 1961 to 1997 where he mentored an entire generation of metalsmiths including, especially, Gary Lee Noffke. When the Southern Illinois University Smithy was renovated in 2003, it was renamed the L. Brent Kington Smithy in his honor.The Topeka Capital-Journal, Brent Kington Obituary, February 10, 2013
/ref> He was a very influential artist with over 370 exhibitions and with works displayed at many galleries, including the Southern Illinois Art & Artisan Center, the Lockport Gallery at the Illinois State Museum, the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, 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 ...

National Museum of American Art The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; 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 one of the world's lar ...

, the

National Ornamental Metal Museum The Metal Museum, formerly called the National Ornamental Metal Museum, is a museum in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded by artist-blacksmith James Wallace, the museum is devoted to exhibitions of metalwork and public programs featuring metalsmiths. ...

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, and The

Mint Museum The Mint Museum, also referred to as The Mint Museums, is a cultural institution comprising two museums, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Mint Museum Randolph and Mint Museum Uptown, together these two locations have hundreds of collecti ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. There was a major exhibition of his work in March 2010 at the Illinois State Museum in Springfield.Illinois State Museum:L. Brent Kington: Mythic Metalsmith
/ref>

Honors and awards

Kington received the honor of Master Metalsmith in 1984 from the

in Memphis, TN. Kington received fellowships from

The National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

(1975 and 1982) and the

Illinois Arts Council The Illinois Arts Council is a government agency of the state of Illinois formed to encourage development of the arts throughout Illinois. Founded in 1965 by the Illinois General Assembly, the Illinois Arts Council provides financial and technica ...

(1985). His awards include the Gold Medal from the

American Craft Council The American Craft Council (ACC) is a national non-profit organization that champions craft based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1943 by Aileen Osborn Webb, the council hosts national craft shows and conferences, publishes a quarterly m ...

(2000), the Lifetime Member Award by the Artist-Blacksmiths Association of North America (2006), the Outstanding Artist Educator Award by the

Penland School of Crafts The Penland School of Craft ("Penland" and formerly "Penland School of Crafts") is an Arts and Crafts educational center located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Penland, North Carolina, in the Snow Creek Township near Spruce Pine, about 50 mil ...

(2009), and the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Society of North American Goldsmiths (2011).

References

;Notes ;Sources *Tayes, Debra, 2008, ''L. Brent Kington: Mythic Metalsmith''. Illinois State Museum. *Ulrich, Polly, 2008, "L. Brent Kington," ''American Craft Magazine'', 68(4).

External links

Tayes, Debra and Sue Huitt, 2008, ''L. Brent Kington: Mythic Metalsmith''. Illinois State Museum Online Exhibition
* ttps://www.pbs.org/video/wsiu-infocus-l-brent-kington/ WISU InFocus, L. Brent Kington Episode {{DEFAULTSORT:Kingston, L. Brent American blacksmiths Arts and Crafts movement artists Southern Illinois University Carbondale faculty 1934 births 2013 deaths Artists from Topeka, Kansas American art educators