The Legacy of a Lifetime

The Wheelright Museum presents 70 years’ worth of jewelry from the Schultz Collection.

Moving to New Mexico in the 1950s, Sidney (1921-2022) and Ruth (1923-2019) Schultz became passionate and prodigious accumulators of Indigenous North American art. The exhibit Always in Relation, on view through December 30 at the Wheelright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe, features 100 works including jewelry, works on paper, vessels, objects and jewelry from the couple’s estate.

Clockwise from top: Yazzie Johnson (Navajo) and Gail Bird (Santo Domingo Pueblo/Laguna Pueblo), gold butterfly with Tyrone turquoise wings and coral body, 2006. Teri Greeves (Kiowa), gold and brown beadwork butterfly, 2006. Perry Shorty (Navajo), silver pin with turquoise, 2001. Liz Wallace (Navajo/Maidu/Washo), Cicada of Kingman (wings) and Blue Gem (body) turquoise with coral eyes, 2003. Attributed to Leo Poblano (Zuni Pueblo, 1905-1959), inlaid butterfly pin with wings of spiny oyster, turquoise and jet, ca. 1940s. Liz Wallace (Navajo/Maidu/Washo), butterfly with Australian rhyolite wings, Lone Mountain turquoise eyes and Blue Gem turquoise body, 2006. Photo by David Clapp

The collection provides insight into the Schultz’s evolving relationship with the Southwest, in large part through Ruth’s love of jewelry, particularly that of Kenneth Begay (1913-1977). The jewelry component has added significance not only because of the breadth and distinction of the 60 artists represented, but because it was donated along with archival materials like sketches and custom designs associated with specific works.

“As far as we can tell we have the first piece of jewelry Ruth consciously bought,” says Wheelright Museum executive director Henrietta Lidchi. “This is a triangular-shaped pin with turquoise made by Kenneth Begay that she bought at the White Hogan booth at the Gallup Intertribal Ceremonial in 1958. One of the last pieces of jewelry that Ruth bought was a belt by Navajo jeweler Norbert Peshlakai. Called The Mimbres Belt, it is made up of stamped seed pots, however Ruth, who was slender the whole of her life, did not need the length of the belt. She asked if it could be shortened and the extra used to make an additional item of jewelry. Peshlakai combined the two surplus bowls into a pendant with a handmade chain and presented the necklace to Ruth in 2015.”

Kenneth Begay (Navajo, 1913-1977), necklace of silver and Persian turquoise with large pendant, 1977. 2022.03.115. Photo by Ben Calabaza

Lidchi and co-curators Gail Bird (Santo Domingo Pueblo/Laguna Pueblo) and Yazzie Johnson (Navajo) with the assistance of Kim Begay (Navajo), organized the exhibit taking into account both theme and chronology, using selected pieces to highlight different stages in their lives and marriage, and to illuminate how collecting was a way for Ruth to adapt to her new environment that deepened into an abiding affinity for the work of Navajo silversmith Kenneth Begay and, subsequently, his children.

Kenneth Begay (Navajo, 1913-1977), stamped spiral silver bracelet set with Morenci turquoise, ca. 1970s. 2022.03.020. Photo by Ben Calabaza

The sections include “Beginnings” which highlights the Schultz’s lifelong engagement with jewelry made by the Begay family. “Relationships” explores art’s central roles in the lives of the couple; while “Passion” features pieces collected later in the life when they were fully invested and engaged in the Native American art world. Finally, “Picturing women” showcases work by women artists, including a diverse selection of winged-insect pins, which were common accessories among women of Ruth’s generation.

Clarence Lee (Navajo, 1952-2011), truck bracelet with movable tires, ca. 2000, water barrel and squashed rabbit. 2022.03.040.

“In the exhibition we wish to show how a life can be dedicated to the appreciation of art, and how, as collectors, both Ruth and Sid were driven by personal relationships, which were fostered over time, and in some instances especially rich and profound,” says Lidchi. “This was also about how affinity deepens with age. Ideally [visitors] will come away with an appreciation of the work and the artistry and an understanding of the galaxy of work on display, and the skill of each and every one of the artists whose work can be seen. They might appreciate how collecting can be undertaken with attentiveness: that this springs from the quality of relationships, and the choices made, and that as a process it can start off modestly and blossom. They might agree as a consequence that artworks contain a multitude of stories. That while collections are often taken as expression of taste, they are more importantly a map of mutual relationships and contain stories and memories.”

Through December 30, 2023
Always in Relation: Artworks from the Schultz collection
Wheelright Museum of the American Indian 704 Camino Lejo, Santa Fe, NM 87505 (505) 982-4636, www.wheelwright.org