By Signe Hammer
Last February 1, San Miguel PEN presented successfully to Adolfo Caballero of YAM gallery, in the Hotel la Aldea, telling the story of William Spratling, a foundational figure in modern Mexican design, who was also a noted collector of Mesoamerican art.
Born in western New York State, Spratling became the legendary character Guillermo Spratling, Mexico’s “silver gringo” and passionate collector of pre-Columbian art. He knew everybody, even promoting Diego Rivera’s work at New York City galleries. This led to the first U.S. exhibition of Mexican arts at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In the early 1930s, Spratling moved to Taxco, for centuries the site of silver mines, and began designing silver jewelry executed by Mexican craftsmen. This attracted other craftsmen working in tin, copper, textiles, and furniture, all designed by Spratling who also trained a whole generation of new craftsmen who went on to produce their own work. All this occurred while taking epic archeological field trips with Rivera and artist-ethnologist Miguel Covarrubias.
Violante Ulrich, who is currently the heiress to the most important Spratling collection and lives on what used to be his ranch, in Taxco, Guerrero, also participated in the presentation. We can currently find pieces by the American artist at Yam Gallery.
