Rago Auctions

Zaha Hadid, the world renowned architect, left an indelible mark with her virtuosic buildings of immense originality, her understanding of space and the need for public space within urban setting. She left a smaller, yet also exciting mark in the world of jewelry. 

In 1979, Hadid established her own firm in London. From the start her buildings pushed boundaries for their fragmented style, their organic fluidity, and their undulating sculptural qualities. Her reputation was solidified with the Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art built in 2000 in Cincinnati, Ohio. By 2010, she was earning architecture’s top prizes, such as the Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize for the best building by a British architect. Her work is that much more remarkable, in that she was working in a heavily male dominated industry. In 2004, she was the first woman to be awarded the Pritzker Prize, architecture’s highest honor and often compared to the Nobel Prize.

Hadid also taught at Harvard, Yale, and the University of Chicago. She worked in collaboration with Georg Jensen to create a line of jewelry that launched before her untimely death in 2016. The jewelry world is lucky to have her mark.