KARL STITTGEN (1930-2023)

Karl Stittgen was born in Germany and moved to Vancouver in 1952, where he established himself as a leading Canadian jewelry designer. Stittgen began his career as a watchmaker and jeweler and quickly built an international reputation as a goldsmith and artist. He opened stores in Calgary, San Francisco, and New York.

Inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright, Stittgen pursued architecture and interior design as well. He received a fellowship at Wright’s Taliesin West in 1961. In 1974, Stittgen took a break from jewelry to focus on interior design, only to return to goldsmithing in 1984. Stittgen’s work is about juxtapositions. Inspired by nature, he also looked to architecture as a major inspiration. Stittgen’s style is quiet and diverse, often akin to his contemporaries in the modernist jewelry world. He has centered large stones in textured or plain gold. His work may be recognized by its “molten” gold settings and also for its organic and free-form designs.

In 2009, Stittgen was honored with the Creative Achievement Award of Distinction in Vancouver. Stittgen was selected for his “profound and lasting impact on applied art and design in British Columbia.”