Getty acquires Peter MacGill archive

The vast archive of Peter MacGill (right) has been acquired by the Getty
Research Institute. (photo courtesy of the Getty Research Institute)

The Getty Research Institute has acquired the archive of American gallerist, curator and historian Peter MacGill.

MacGill created a standard of fine art photography, providing artists the highest level of representation and establishing Pace/ MacGill Gallery as a preeminent venue dealing in modern and contemporary photography. After working at LIGHT Gallery beginning in 1973, and eventually becoming its director, and at the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona, soon after it opened in 1976, MacGill opened Pace/MacGill Gallery in 1983. The gallery was a partnership among MacGill, Arne Glimcher of Pace Gallery and Richard Solomon of Pace Prints. At Pace/MacGill Gallery, MacGill exhibited the work of celebrated photographers, showcased emerging artists, and reached back into history to elevate forgotten visionaries, mounting more than 500 exhibitions, and publishing exhibition catalogues during his 50 years in the field.

Standing out among his many relations in cultivating important private collectors, MacGill negotiated the acquisition of Thomas Walther’s collection of early-20thcentury European modernism by MoMA, and Manfred Heiting’s exceptional survey collection by the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. As corporate collectors began to acquire fine art photographs, and private collectors sought out select work, MacGill worked with other experts to develop appropriate standards for materials analysis, provenance and exhibition history, all to further a deeper understanding of the photographs the Gallery handled.

The MacGill archive includes records of daily interactions in calendars and call lists, includes business transactions and documents exhibition installations, client correspondence, press releases and clippings, as well as snapshots from MacGill’s time in the field. It details how the gallery was positioned to provide artists and collectors with a full range of services from authentication of works of art, authoritative appraisals, to intellectual property and outside legal advice.

Peter and Susan MacGill have a long-standing and important relationship with the Getty, both with the Department of Photographs at the J. Paul Getty Museum, and now at the GRI with this archive which chronicles an era in the history of photography, touching each facet of the story.

This archive will be cataloged over several years, after which time it will be made available at the Getty Research Institute for study. For information, visit getty.edu.