Button

Cashion Callaway, Button, n.d., original design 1974, pierced, soldered, oxidized and buffed silver, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1975.147.2
Cashion Callaway, Button, n.d., original design 1974, pierced, soldered, oxidized and buffed silver, 78 in. (2.3 cm.) diam., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1975.147.2

Artwork Details

Title
Button
Date
n.d., original design 1974
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
78 in. (2.3 cm.) diam.
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums
Mediums Description
pierced, soldered, oxidized and buffed silver
Classifications
Subjects
  • Animal — reptile — lizard
Object Number
1975.147.2

Artwork Description

This set of six buttons shows Cashion Callaway’s interest in Native American art and archaeology. Lizards are native creatures in the deserts of the Southwest, where Callaway conducts many of her archaeological excavations. The reptiles also appear in the petroglyphs at Lizard Cave in Southern California and in other ancient artifacts. The lizard is greatly respected in many southwestern cultures. Navajo stories, for example, emphasize the lizard’s perseverance and ability to keep ancient secrets.

Works by this artist (16 items)

Robbert Flick, (SV186) At Pinnacles, 1990, 12 gelatin silver prints, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Consolidated Natural Gas Company Foundation, 1991.101A-L, © 1990, Robbert Flick
(SV186) At Pinnacles
Date1990
12 gelatin silver prints
Not on view
Robbert Flick, Inglewood from Sequential Views, 1980, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts through the Photography Museum of Los Angeles, 1990.38.39, © 1980, Robbert Flick
Inglewood from Sequential Views
Date1980
gelatin silver print
Not on view

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Dateca. 1975
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Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled, ca. 1945-1950, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Lewis and Jean Greenblatt, 2002.86.9
Untitled
Dateca. 1945-1950
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Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled, ca. 1945-1950, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Lewis and Jean Greenblatt, 2002.86.7
Untitled
Dateca. 1945-1950
gelatin silver print
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Jared French, Margaret French, PaJaMa, Paul Cadmus, PaJaMa (Box A), ca. 1937, gelatin silver prints, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Margaret French, 1999.98.5.16
PaJaMa (Box A)
Dateca. 1937
gelatin silver prints
Not on view