The Headley-Whitney Museum of Art is thrilled to host Convergence during our 50th Anniversary. The exhibition features work from members of the American Jewelry Design Council (AJDC). The AJDC’s members are committed to promoting original jewelry design as art. To advance and encourage innovative and unique jewelry design, AJDC’s members design a piece of jewelry around a specific theme each year. For this exhibition the Headley-Whitney’s staff selected jewelry that embodies the themes of FIRE, ICE, STRIPES, WAVE, and TRANSFORMATION. This exhibition, a collaboration between AJDC and the Headley-Whitney Museum of Art, is a perfect pairing as the Headley-Whitney is a museum rooted in jewelry design. The museum was founded by George Headley and his wife Barbara Whitney with later contributions by Barbara’s brother, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney and his wife Marylou. George Headley was a jewelry designer who began his career in New York working for Paul Flato before traveling to California in the 1940’s to open a boutique at the Hotel Bel Air. It was here he designed for many Hollywood stars. In 1950, Headley returned to his family home in Lexington, Kentucky. He continued designing jewelry and started work on his bibelot collection. The bibelots are small jeweled objects of art. Proud of his collection, Headley wanted to share it with an audience larger than those invited to his home. He opened the Headley Jewel Museum & Library in 1968. The museum’s name has evolved over the years but the museum’s mission to showcase fine and decorative arts, including jewelry, remains. Selections of George Headley’s amazing bibelots, jewelry and imaginative sketches are always on Convergence Amy Gudrun Greene Curator, The Headley-Whitney Museum of Art