Peter MacGill should not be confused with Peter McGill.
| Peter MacGill | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Education: | B.A. – Ohio Wesleyan University M.F.A. – University of Arizona |
| Occupation: | Curator |
| Spouse: | Susan MacGill |
| Children: | Mary MacGill,[1] Gordon MacGill[2] |
Peter MacGill is an American gallerist, curator, and art historian. MacGill is the former President of the Pace/MacGill Gallery,[3] which opened in 1983 on East 57th Street in New York City and was consolidated into the Pace Gallery in 2019–20.[4]
In 2006 he was the first recipient of the Harold Jones Distinguished Alumni Award at The University of Arizona.
MacGill graduated with a B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1974 and a M.F.A. from the University of Arizona in 1977, where he was the first student to graduate from the MFA Photography program. He began working in the photography world as a college intern at Light Gallery in 1973 where he hung Stephen Shore’s first solo show. While attending the University of Arizona MacGill served as a curator at the Center for Creative Photography.[5] In 2005 he was ranked 15th on the list of "The 100 Most Important People in Photography" compiled by American Photo magazine.
MacGill is President of the Pace/MacGill Gallery, which opened in 1983 on East 57th Street in New York City. Although Pace/MacGill specializes in photography, the gallery has also exhibited non-photographic work since the mid-1990s. In 1999 the gallery sold Man Ray's Glass Tears (1930–33) for $1.3 million, at the time the highest price ever paid for a photograph.[6] MacGill has stated that the work sold for such a high amount because of its scarcity (only three prints were made).[7] In 2006 MacGill set a new record when he bought Edward Steichen’s The Pond—Moonlight for $2.9 million on behalf of a private buyer.[8]
In 2019 MacGill established a partnership with RadicalMedia to develop a streaming platform focused on the history of photography.[9]