James "Jimmy" Metcalf (March 11, 1925 – January 27, 2012) was an American sculptor, artist and educator. Metcalf established and led a community for copper

artisan An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...

s in

Santa Clara del Cobre Santa Clara del Cobre () is a Magical town (Pueblo Mágico) and municipality located in the center of the state of Michoacán, Mexico, 18 km from Pátzcuaro and 79 km from the state capital of Morelia. While the official name of the mun ...

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, from the 1970s until his death in 2012. Metcalf was born in New York City. His parents were both

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

artists, most notably contributing to the windows for the

Cathedral of St. John the Divine The Cathedral of St. John the Divine (sometimes referred to as St. John's and also nicknamed St. John the Unfinished) is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It is at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue in the Morningside Heights neighborhood ...

. Metcalf took up art and sculpture as a teenager. He enlisted in the 88th Infantry Division of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, nicknamed the Blue Devils, when he was 18 years old. Metcalf fought in northern Italy during World War II, and lost three of his fingers during combat at Furlo Pass. Metcalf attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and then enrolled at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London. He was awarded a fellowship to study ancient

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

and essentially moved to Deya, Majorca, in 1953. There he befriended and collaborated with writer

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celtic ...

on his work, Adam's Rib, published in 1955. Metcalf lived in Paris from 1956 to 1965, where he located his studio at the

Impasse Ronsin A bargaining impasse occurs when the two sides negotiating an agreement are unable to reach an agreement and become deadlocked. An impasse is almost invariably mutually harmful, either as a result of direct action which may be taken such as a s ...

. In 1957, Metcalf was awarded a grant by the William and Noma Copley Foundation, which published a monograph of his art in 1960.''James Metcalf'' https://www.kurtgippert.com/pages/books/018651/james-metcalf-sam-hunter/metcalf By 1965, Metcalf was an accomplished sculptor, with a studio on

Spring Street Spring Street may refer to: * Spring Street (Los Angeles), USA * Spring Street (Manhattan), New York City, USA * Spring Street, Melbourne, Australia * Spring Street, Singapore * Spring St (website), a US based lifestyle website Subway and trolle ...

SoHo Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

. However, he was tired of

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

and moved to

, including

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. He became friends with prominent writers and artists, including Carlos Fuentes and

Carlos Pellicer Carlos Pellicer Cámara (10 January 1897 – 16 February 1977) was part of the first wave of modernist Mexican poets and was active in the promotion of Mexican art, pictures, and literature. An enthusiastic traveler, his work is filled with ...

, and was the first to introduce Octavio Paz to

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...

. Metcalf won the commission to

forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to th ...

the Olympic torch for the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

in Mexico City. He was married to Mexican actress

Pilar Pellicer María del Pilar Pellicer López de Llergo (12 February 1938 – 16 May 2020) was a Mexican actress. At the 17th Ariel Awards, she won the Ariel Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film ''La Choca'' (1974). Biography Pilar was ...

, his third wife, with whom he had two sons and one daughter. Metcalf later married Pilar Pellicar's younger sister, sculptor

Ana Pellicer Ana Emilia Pellicer López de Llergo (born 1946) is a Mexican sculptor, artisan and jewelry maker. She is the widow of American sculptor, James Metcalf, with whom she established an important artist colony and school, the Adolfo Best Maugard Sch ...

, his fourth wife. Metcalf opened a studio and forge in 1967, where he taught artists how to create vases with a thick edge called ''El Borde Grueso''. In 1973, Melcalf and Anna Pellicer founded Casa de Artesana and a school. which would become known as the Adolfo Best Maugard School of Arts and Crafts in

, to promote indigenous artists and

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...

coppersmithing and

forging Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which i ...

techniques. Their work has been credited with preserving the metalworking of the region. Metcalf died in Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacan, on January 27, 2012, at the age of 86. He was survived by his wife,

. He was buried in Santa Clara del Cobre, near several of his sculptures.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metcalf, James 1925 births 2012 deaths American coppersmiths American emigrants to Mexico United States Army personnel of World War II People from Santa Clara del Cobre Artists from Michoacán Artists from New York City Sculptors from Paris Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alumni Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors Sculptors from New York (state)