Victor Beck — Navajo Silversmith
Victor Beck remembered his first Santa Fe Indian Market this way: "In early 1975, I went to Market for the first time." When he went to pick up his jewelry, he "found out I'd won a bunch of first prize awards," as he told Lois Essary Jacka for Navajo Jewelry: A Legacy of Silver and Stone (Jacka 1995, p. 39).
Margaret Nickelson Wright's Hopi Silver, a register of Hopi smiths and their hallmarks, describes him as "a Navajo smith" who worked in Flagstaff with Duane Maktima and Bob Lomadapki in a program sponsored by the Museum of Northern Arizona, with Jake Brookins as mentor (Wright 2003, p. 67). He taught, too: Wright records that Duane Maktima "Studied with Victor Beck and then Jake Brookins" (Wright 2003, p. 88).
Bille Hougart's Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks lists him as Navajo, 1941 to 2022, working in contemporary jewelry and channel inlay in silver, gold and various materials, and calls him "A Multiple award winner and 2003 Arizona Indian Living Treasure" (Hougart 2022, p. 46).
His hallmark
Hougart lists a script signature, "VICTOR BECK", among his marks (Hougart 2022, p. 46).
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References
- Jacka, Lois Essary. Navajo Jewelry: A Legacy of Silver and Stone. Photographs by Jerry Jacka. Flagstaff: Northland Publishing, 1995.
- Wright, Margaret Nickelson. Hopi Silver: The History and Hallmarks of Hopi Silversmithing. Revised edition. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2003.
- Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks: Silversmiths, Designers, Guilds and Traders. 5th edition. Washington, DC: BilleHougartBooks, 2022.
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.