Lizard Pot

Christine McHorse, Lizard Pot, ca. 1990, pit-fired micaceous clay with piñon pitch, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1997.124.160
Christine McHorse, Lizard Pot, ca. 1990, pit-fired micaceous clay with piñon pitch, 5 3413 7811 78 in. (14.635.230.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1997.124.160

Artwork Details

Title
Lizard Pot
Date
ca. 1990
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
5 3413 7811 78 in. (14.635.230.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
Mediums Description
pit-fired micaceous clay with piñon pitch
Classifications
Subjects
  • Animal — reptile — lizard
Object Number
1997.124.160

Artwork Description

Christine McHorse uses both traditional and contemporary processes for her clay creations. She fired this pot in the old Navajo manner—in an outdoor pit using cottonwood bark for fuel—and coated it with piñon pitch. For other work, she uses an electric kiln because it allows better control and thinner clay walls.

"I feel as Navajo as anyone else—I can make my own taboos and traditions."
—Christine McHorse

Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006

Works by this artist (16 items)

Charles Seliger, Awakening, 1988, etching on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. George M. Jaffin, 1994.50, © 1988, Charles Seliger
Awakening
Date1988
etching on paper
Not on view
Charles Seliger, Suction, the Epicurean, from Illustrations to the songs of William Blake's "Island in the Moon", 1945, white ink on black ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Michael Rosenfeld, 1992.53.13
Suction, the Epicurean, from Illustrations to the songs of…
Date1945
white ink on black ink on paper
Not on view
Charles Seliger, Title page, Illustrations to the songs from William Blake's "Island in the Moon", 1945, white ink on black ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Michael Rosenfeld, 1992.53.1
Title page, Illustrations to the songs from William Blake’s…
Date1945
white ink on black ink on paper
Not on view
Charles Seliger, Celestial, 1956, mixed media: pencil, tempera, oil and wax on illustration board, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Hy Klebanow, 1992.58
Celestial
Date1956
mixed media: pencil, tempera, oil and wax on illustration board
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Welmon Sharlhorne, Untitled (Building with Recessed Entrance and Black Foreground), ca. 1992, ink on manila envelope, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.135
Untitled (Building with Recessed Entrance and Black…
Dateca. 1992
ink on manila envelope
Not on view
Andrea Way, Bones, 1987, ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tom and Judy Brody, 2009.38.3, © 1987, Andrea Way
Bones
Date1987
ink on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Bearded Man, ca. 1935, pen and ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.378
Bearded Man
Dateca. 1935
pen and ink on paper
Not on view
Welmon Sharlhorne, Bus, ca. 1992, ink on manila envelope, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.134
Bus
Dateca. 1992
ink on manila envelope
Not on view