James Metcalf

James "Jimmy" Metcalf (March 11, 1925 – January 27, 2012) was an American sculptor, artist and educator. Metcalf established and led a community for copper artisans in Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacán, Mexico, from the 1970s until his death in 2012.

Metcalf was born in New York City. Metcalf lived in Paris from 1956 to 1965, where he located his studio at the Impasse Ronsin.

By 1965, Metcalf was an accomplished sculptor, with a studio on Spring Street in SoHo.

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 Santa Clara del Cobre, to promote indigenous artists and pre-Columbian coppersmithing and forging 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, Ana Pellicer. He was buried in Santa Clara del Cobre, near several of his sculptures.