
Albert Paley b. 1944
Albert Paley is an American jewelry designer and sculptor whose work defies strict categorization as either art or craft, instead embracing the finer aspects of both disciplines.
Paley was born in Philadelphia in 1944 to lower middle class parents. Despite showing a natural inclination towards the arts, Paley held misgivings about pursuing a career as an artist. He believed the only way to earn a steady income in the arts was to find work in advertising—a proposition he found distasteful.
It was Paley’s girlfriend, a student at the Tyler School of Art, who convinced him otherwise. A single Saturday spent touring the campus and Paley was sold; he enrolled at the Tyler School of Arts with hardly enough money for a single semester’s tuition. Paley began taking classes in jewelry making and sculpture during his sophomore year and soon found himself enthralled with both crafts. Paley graduated from the Tyler School of Arts in 1969 with a Master in Fine Arts.
Paley began his professional career as a jeweler creating works of wearable art that merged the sinuous and organic lines of European Art Nouveau with the visual weight of metalwork. Later in 1969, Paley accepted a position teaching goldsmithing at the Rochester Institute of Technology, but continued to pursue his sculptural aspirations on the side. In 1972, Paley was commissioned to produce the Portal Gates at the Smithsonian Institute’s Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C. Completed in 1973, and installed in 1976, the monumental steel, bronze and copper doors earned Paley national recognition as a metalsmith of truly unique vision.
Albert Paley’s sculptures don’t simply occupy space; they command it. Paley possesses a rare ability to transform iron from a lifeless and unyielding metal into a moving, almost liquid, element. Despite the seemingly spontaneous and organic nature of his work, Paley is a consummate draftsman, envisioning the majority of his creations on paper before stepping to the forge.
Crossing the boundaries between art and craft, Paley has established himself as one of the greatest metal artists in the country. Throughout his career, he has completed several important private and public site-specific commissions including the Clay Center Sculpture at the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences in West Virginia and the Animals Always installation at the St. Louis Zoo. Further, his works have been widely published and can be found in multiple major museum collections around the world.
Auction Results Albert Paley

Albert Paley
Golden Dawn table
estimate: $15,000–20,000
result: $40,000

Albert Paley
Paley Bed
estimate: $25,000–35,000
result: $35,000

Albert Paley
brooch
estimate: $25,000–35,000
result: $27,500

Albert Paley
Splay
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $27,500

Albert Paley
Dragon's Back table
estimate: $15,000–20,000
result: $20,000

Albert Paley
Six railings
estimate: $12,000–18,000
result: $20,000

Albert Paley
Golden Dawn table
estimate: $15,000–20,000
result: $18,750

Albert Paley
Arabesque Parabolic Floor Lamp
estimate: $8,500–12,500
result: $18,750

Albert Paley
Monumental coffee table
estimate: $15,000–20,000
result: $15,000

George Stanley and Albert Paley
Sculpture and fountain elements
estimate: $15,000–20,000
result: $15,000

Albert Paley
Plant Stand
estimate: $15,000–20,000
result: $13,000

Albert Paley
Nimbus
estimate: $8,000–12,000
result: $12,800

Albert Paley
Double Cross
estimate: $12,000–18,000
result: $12,500

Albert Paley
Meridian table
estimate: $14,000–19,000
result: $12,500

Albert Paley
Lectern
estimate: $15,000–20,000
result: $11,250

Albert Paley
Massive andiron
estimate: $7,500–10,000
result: $11,250

Albert Paley
Three columns
estimate: $10,000–15,000
result: $11,250

Albert Paley
Sculptural Wall Relief from Gannett Corporate Headquarters, USA Today, Washington D.C.
estimate: $12,000–18,000
result: $10,625

Albert Paley
interlocking ring
estimate: $9,000–12,000
result: $10,000

Albert Paley
Three columns
estimate: $10,000–15,000
result: $10,000

Albert Paley
Collection of Two Works
estimate: $10,000–15,000
result: $10,000

Albert Paley
Millennium floor lamp
estimate: $10,000–15,000
result: $9,375

Albert Paley
Collection of Two Works
estimate: $10,000–15,000
result: $9,375

Albert Paley
exterior door handles from Rosecliff, Inc., set of three
estimate: $4,000–6,000
result: $8,750