Papers and photographic records of Spencer H. MacCallum (b. 1931) documenting the artistic development and early public career of the master potter Juan Quezada (b. 1940).

Spencer H. MacCallum, born in 1931, studied art history and anthropology at Princeton, the University of Washington, and the University of Chicago. He met the potter Juan Quezada in Mata Ortiz, Chihuahua in 1976 and received Quezada’s permission to represent him among organizations and collectors whom MacCallum believed would take an interest in his work, which was almost unknown in the US at that time. MacCallum promoted Quezada’s work full time for almost eight years, coordinating the artist’s introduction to major museums, universities, agencies, private galleries, and individual arts patrons. MacCallum’s full-time involvement with the potters of Mata Ortiz ended in 1984, by which time the work of Mata Ortiz artists was represented in museums and private collections worldwide.

15 linear feet

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