Background
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.
Restrictions
The museum can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Diego
Museum of Man as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder,
which must also be obtained by the researcher.