I’m responding to the requests for more information and pictures of his work.
My grandparents were customers of Art Lewis during the 1940’s and beyond. My grandfather wore his bolo ties and grandmother wore rings, necklaces and bracelets. After high school in the mid-70’s, Gram asked me to go to Taos, NM, find Art Lewis and ask him to make her a silver Kachina. The altitude around the mountains of Taos kept her from returning. I drove from Dallas to Taos across the Texas panhandle and began my search, which was soon to be a wonderful adventure.
It took two months to find him. In the meantime I got a job as a construction helper and a place to live and made Taos home for a while. Now it was time to knock on the door and introduce myself. A small, old man answered, smiling and hospitable as he introduced me to his wife. We sat at his workbench while I described the Kachina my grandmother wanted. It would take him a couple of months to complete the Kachina, which he fashioned into a necklace. During those months, I got to know the Lewis’ about as well as an 18 year old can know an old couple.
One day, the Kachina was completed and during a visit he gave it to me… and told me a story. He confided that being a Indian silversmith was a difficult way to make a living. His wife worked at the moccasin factory and he had tried some creative ways to make more money. He had provided a Kachina to a costume jewelry maker who said they were going to give him a royalty on every imitation Kachina they reproduced. This was compelling for him because he was aware of travelers looking for affordable souvenirs throughout the southwest. Many would choose costume Indian jewelry rather than spend on the real thing. He never heard from them again. But that didn’t stop The Sancrest Company from reproducing and selling his Kachina design anyway.
He told me that I could walk to the Taos Square, go into the 5 & 10 and buy one of his Kachinas hanging from a display near the cashier for two dollars. He was correct.
Sancrest made good costume jewelry until the 1970’s and it’s now available at auction sites like eBay. They’re made from a silver colored metal and plastic turquoise. If you buy a Sancrest Kachina, you’re getting an authentic imitation Art Lewis design. I have included a real Kachina and an imitation Sancrest Kachina for your own comparison.
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