Kenneth Begay — Father of Modern Navajo Silversmithing
Diné (Navajo) · 1913 – 1977 · Active 1940s to 1977
Kenneth Begay (1913–1977) was the Diné (Navajo) silversmith who co-founded White Hogan Silver in Flagstaff in 1946 and became its lead smith. He kept the old Navajo style his teacher Fred Peshlakai taught him, and gave it a modern look: clean chiseled silver, single stones, ironwood set in silver. His mark is KB, which he says he began using in 1951 or 1952.
KEY POINTS
- Kenneth Begay lived from 1913 to 1977; Baxter gives May 28, 1913, to December 23, 1977.
- He co-founded White Hogan Silver in Flagstaff in May 1946, with John Bonnell and Allen Kee.
- His hallmark is KB, often beside White Hogan's hogan stamp. A hogan alone is not his.
- Baxter calls him the first Native artist to set ironwood in silver.
- From 1968 he taught at Navajo Community College, where he influenced many, including his son Harvey.
The marks
"I began marking my jewelry in 1951 or 2 using a 'KB' as my mark." That's Kenneth Begay himself, interviewed in the mid-1970s — one of the rare cases where the origin of a hallmark comes to us in the maker's own words. Hougart's reference confirms it: KB (embossed), introduced 1951 or 1952.
Before and alongside the KB, there is the shop stamp. "While I worked for the White Hogan I stamped it with a small hogan," Begay said. The White Hogan Silver hogan mark — first used in 1948 — has an open roof smoke hole and three lines crossing the building, the top line clearing the door. On Begay's work it usually appears with his KB initials and STERLING HAND MADE; tertiary marks can include Original Design in script inside a fringed square or oval plate. The same convention ran shop-wide: every White Hogan smith paired personal initials with the hogan.
Where did the hogan stamp come from? Hougart says it was "reportedly acquired from Fred Peshlakai" — Begay's old teacher — but Hougart's own Peshlakai entry adds that no reputable evidence has surfaced that Fred ever used a hogan stamp at all. A hallmark origin story hedged twice over: enjoy it, don't bank on it.
Collector's caution. Don't conflate the marks. The hogan alone is a shop stamp — a dozen-plus silversmiths worked at White Hogan between 1946 and its closing in 2006, from Allen Kee to Edison Cummings, each pairing their own initials with it. A hogan without the KB is not a Kenneth Begay. Note also the birth-year wobble: Hougart's timeline says 1913 flatly, while its own Names entry hedges "1913 or 1914." Small, but it's the kind of detail that separates careful references from confident ones.
The modernist who kept the old style
Begay started the way the old smiths did — informally, watching. "I started playing with silver when I was about twelve years old. My great-uncle worked with silver and I watched him and played with the silver when he wasn't around." The formal training came at Fort Wingate Vocational School, and his teacher there was Fred Peshlakai — son of the household of Slender Maker of Silver. Students began on copper, filing and chiseling, cut their own steel dies, and only graduated to silver when ready. "Fred Peshlakai taught us the old Navajo style that he learned from Slender Maker of Silver," Begay recalled. "I like that style and still work in it."
While still in school he demonstrated silversmithing at Bryce Canyon, Zion, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, then worked for Babbitt Brothers in Flagstaff. In May 1946 came the decision that made his name: with John Bonnell and his cousin Allen Kee, he co-founded White Hogan Silver in Flagstaff — Begay and Kee its first silversmiths. The shop moved to Scottsdale in 1950 and became the flagship of the modern era, the reason Hougart calls Begay the father of modern Navajo jewelry. It was at the White Hogan bench, by his own account, that he started setting ironwood into silver: "Then everyone started using it." His own claim, and Baxter (2000, p. 86) backs it: the first Native artist to set ironwood in silver, in the early 1950s. [6] Nobody disputes the look he made famous either: clean chiseled silver, single stones, ironwood, coral, turquoise.
For all the modernism, his creed was traditional. "Navajos should make jewelry like Navajos and Zunis like the Zunis." He drew designs from potsherds and Navajo rugs, dreamed them at night and wrote them down, and refused treated or stabilized turquoise outright.
From 1968 he taught at Navajo Community College at Many Farms, starting his students on copper just as Peshlakai had started him. His students include Darryl Dean Begay, James Little, Boyd Tsosie, and Roberta Multine, who studied with him at Navajo Community College in 1968 [1]; his own family became a dynasty — son Harvey Begay (Arizona Indian Living Treasure, 2005), daughters Sylvia Radcliffe and Kaye Begay, granddaughter Deborah Silversmith, who still uses his old tools. Hougart's chronology adds two appointments: managing the Navajo Nation's Arts and Crafts store from 1964, and the Navajo Community College post from 1968. Jacka (1995, p. 34) also records that at Navajo Community College he "taught many of today's Navajo artists and influenced even more, including his son, Harvey, and James Little." [5]
Slender Maker of Silver taught Fred Peshlakai; Peshlakai taught Kenneth Begay; Begay taught the generation working now. Three teachers, one line — the same line this directory keeps walking.
Field Notes by Mateo James
Two books, two years for the Arts and Crafts job. Hougart's chronology has Begay managing the Navajo Nation's Arts and Crafts store from 1964. Schaaf (2003, p. 77) puts it in 1965, at the Guild shop near Cameron, Arizona. I show both as printed. [8]
Baxter (2000, p. 13) closes his Navajo Community College years in 1973, at Many Farms. Stacey's 1975 Blue Book still has him "currently engaged" in teaching there, and gives the college's address as Tsaile. One is a later summary, the other a report from the time. I show both. [6] [4]
How the White Hogan began depends on who tells it. The history above has Begay co-founding the shop with John Bonnell and Allen Kee in May 1946. Baxter (2000, p. 188) has John and Virginia Bonnell as the owners, taking their lead silversmith into "a form of partnership" in 1947. The first makes him a founder. The second makes him their lead silversmith, who became a partner in 1947. The books don't settle it, and neither do I. [6]
From the Library
What 7 reference books say about Kenneth Begay, grouped by topic. Every passage names its book and page; full references are under Sources.
These are outside observers' records; Kenneth Begay's own words, his family, and the Diné (Navajo) Nation are the authority on his life and work.
Dates, tools and the KB stamp3 passages · 2 books
When he lived, the trade that taught him to make his own dies, and how he marked his work.
Baxter (2000, p. 13) gave his dates as May 28, 1913, to December 23, 1977. [6]
Schaaf (2003) traced his tools to his first trade:
“He began his career as a blacksmith, a trade that taught him how to create all his own stamps, dies and tools.”
Schaaf (2003), p. 77 AS OF 2003 [8]
Schaaf (2003, p. 76) described Kenneth Begay's stamp as KB, set inside a fringed or plain plate when he worked for White Hogan, and recorded that he used a copyright mark after 1952. [8]
The White Hogan years, 1947 to the 1950s6 passages · 4 books
The partnership, the salary that freed him to experiment, and what came out of the shop.
Baxter (2000) dated the arrangement:
“In 1947, John and Virginia Bonnell, owners of the White Hogan, went into a form of partnership with their lead silversmith, Navajo Kenneth Begay (1913-1977).”
Baxter (2000), p. 188 AS OF 2000 [6]
Baxter (2000) described what it gave him:
“By the early 1950s, Begay received a regular salary and was allotted a percentage of company profits; this financial inducement allowed Begay the freedom to experiment with, and enhance, his artistic abilities.”
Baxter (2000), p. 188 AS OF 2000 [6]
According to Baxter (2000, p. 108), Kenneth Begay was particularly known for the fine sculpted metalware he made for the White Hogan in Scottsdale, Arizona, during the 1950s. [6]
Stacey's 1975 essay on the White Hogan photographs:
“The photographs on these pages were taken in the White Hogan, Scottsdale, during the late 1950's where Navajo grand masters Kenneth Begay and the late Allen Kee produced more award winning classics than any other”
Stacey (1975), p. 50 AS OF 1975 [4]
Schaaf (2003) recorded how much of his design work survived:
“An estimated 600-800 drawings by Begay are preserved at White Hogan”
Schaaf (2003), p. 77 AS OF 2003 [8]
Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 309) picture a 1950s Kenneth Begay watch bracelet that was later repurposed with a Godber Burnham turquoise set in a bezel by Don Supplee. [3]
Ironwood, gold, and silver balanced against stone7 passages · 4 books
What the books say he changed, and where the work is held now.
Baxter, writing in 2000, summed up where his style came from:
“Begay’s work was derived from the aesthetics of the earliest generation of Navajo silversmiths, but he brought a modernized look to his creations.”
Baxter (2000), p. 13 AS OF 2000 [6]
In her 2000 encyclopedia, under ironwood, Baxter wrote:
“In the early 1950s, the noted Navajo silversmith Kenneth Begay (1913–1977) was the first native artist to create jewelry made from ironwood set in silver.”
Baxter (2000), p. 86 AS OF 2000 [6]
Writing in 1993, Tryk summed up his place:
“Kenneth Begay, who died in 1977, revolutionized Navajo jewelry styles.”
Tryk (1993), p. 75 AS OF 1993 [7]
Tryk (1993) on the work itself:
“He created strong, handsome pieces that emphasized the balance between the silver and the stones.”
Tryk (1993), p. 75 AS OF 1993 [7]
According to Bedinger (1973, p. 188), Kenneth Begay, then teaching at Navajo Community College in Many Farms, was among the smiths who followed Charles Loloma into gold, and in 1968 this group entered solid gold pieces in the annual competitive Indian shows in Arizona and New Mexico. [2]
Baxter (2000, p. 13) recorded his pieces in the Heard Museum in Phoenix and in the Elkus Collection of the California Academy of Sciences. [6]
Schaaf (2003) wrote of the Hopi goldsmith Morris Robinson:
“He preceded Charles Loloma, Kenneth Begay and others.”
Schaaf (2003), p. 272 AS OF 2003 [8]
Teacher, shop manager, father7 passages · 5 books
Navajo Community College, the Arts and Crafts Guild shop, and the smiths who learned from him.
According to Baxter (2000, p. 13), he taught metalsmithing at Navajo Community College in Many Farms, Arizona, from 1968 to 1973, where he inspired a number of young Native artists. [6]
As of 1975, the Turquoise Blue Book reported:
“Kenneth Begay is currently engaged in instructing aspiring artists and craftsmen at Navajo Community College, Tsaile, Navajo Nation, Arizona, U.S.A.”
Stacey (1975), p. 50 AS OF 1975 [4]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 49), Navajo silversmith Roberta Multine refined her skills in 1968 by studying silversmithing with Kenneth Begay at Navajo Community College; her daughter, jeweler Cheyenne Harris (born 1963), later learned from her. [1]
Schaaf (2003) on the guild shop:
“In 1965, Begay managed the Navajo Nation Arts & Crafts Guild shop near Cameron, AZ”
Schaaf (2003), p. 77 AS OF 2003 [8]
Tryk (1993, p. 72) pictured a necklace with a coral and turquoise pendant by Kenneth Begay beside work by his son Harvey Begay, who, she wrote, was following in his father's footsteps. [7]
Schaaf (2003, p. 203) named Kenneth Begay, with Ambrose Roanhorse, as a teacher of his cousin Allen Kee. [8]
Schaaf (2003, p. 312) wrote that Boyd Tsosie learned jewelry making from Kenneth Begay at Navajo Community College in 1970, and (p. 314) named Kenneth Begay as the teacher of Boyd's brother Richard Tsosie there about 1970. [8]
Frequently asked questions
What is Kenneth Begay's hallmark?
KB, embossed. By his own account he began using it in 1951 or 1952. On White Hogan work it usually appears with the shop's hogan stamp and STERLING HAND MADE. A hogan without the KB is not a Kenneth Begay.
Who taught Kenneth Begay silversmithing?
As a boy he watched a great-uncle who worked silver. His formal teacher was Fred Peshlakai at Fort Wingate Vocational School, who taught the old Navajo style he had learned from Slender Maker of Silver.
What was the White Hogan?
A silver shop in Flagstaff that Begay co-founded in May 1946 with John Bonnell and Allen Kee. It moved to Scottsdale in 1950, and Begay was its lead silversmith.
Was Kenneth Begay the first to set ironwood in silver?
He said so himself, and Baxter (2000) calls him the first Native artist to make jewelry of ironwood set in silver, in the early 1950s. [6]
Where did Kenneth Begay teach?
At Navajo Community College from 1968. Baxter dates the post 1968 to 1973 at Many Farms; his students included Darryl Dean Begay, James Little, Boyd Tsosie and Roberta Multine. [6]
This profile is maintained in support of Native American silversmiths and compiled from published references. See something inaccurate, or want to add to it? Contact us.
Sources
- Bahti, Mark. Silver + Stone: Profiles of American Indian Jewelers. Tucson: Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2007. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2007.
- Bedinger, Margery. Indian Silver: Navajo and Pueblo Jewelers. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1973. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1973.
- Ryan, Mike, II, and Philip Chambless. Turquoise in America, Part Two: 1910–1990. Callais Press, 2020. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2020.
- Stacey, Joseph, ed. Turquoise Blue Book and Indian Jewelry Digest. Arizona Highways Collectors Series. Phoenix: Arizona Highways (Arizona Department of Transportation), 1975. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1975.
- Jacka, Lois Essary. Navajo Jewelry: A Legacy of Silver and Stone. Photographs by Jerry Jacka. Flagstaff: Northland Publishing, 1995. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1995.
- Baxter, Paula A., with Allison Bird-Romero. Encyclopedia of Native American Jewelry: A Guide to History, People, and Terms. Phoenix: Oryx Press, 2000. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2000.
- Tryk, Sheila. Santa Fe Indian Market: Showcase of Native American Art. Photography by Mark Nohl; introduction by Allan Houser. Santa Fe, NM: Tierra Publications, in cooperation with SWAIA (Southwestern Association on Indian Affairs), 1993. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1993.
- Schaaf, Gregory, with Angie Yan Schaaf. American Indian Jewelry I: 1,200 Artist Biographies, ca. 1800-present. American Indian Art Series, Vol. 5. Santa Fe: CIAC Press, 2003. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2003.
- Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. (2022), Names section (Begay entries), White Hogan Silver entry, and chronology.
- Rosnek, Carl & Stacey, Joseph. Skystone and Silver: The Collector's Book of Southwest Indian Jewelry (1976), Kenneth Begay interview, p. 115.
Name card shown; hallmark photo to come. © Turquoise Skies Inc.