This October Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West
Unveils the Rediscovered Legacy of Southwestern Modernist Mac Schweitzer, A Pioneering Female Artist Lost to History
For the first time, the prolific artist’s works—hidden for more than six decades—are exhibited publicly, showcasing her abstract desert style and her groundbreaking role in Tucson’s modern art scene.
(SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.) – Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West is pleased to announce prominent Southwestern artist Mac Schweitzer’s family collection of artwork and archives will be proudly on display at the museum beginning October, 18th 2025.
This will be the first time a museum will display a comprehensive collection of Schweitzer’s work. It comes 63 years after her death. The exhibit, Mac Schweitzer: A Southwest Maverick Rediscovered, will feature an expansive selection of Schweitzer’s paintings, sketches, prints, and archival materials—many which have been unseen for more than six decades. They come from the artist’s family collection, which was donated to Western Spirit in 2024.
Born Mary Alice Cox in Cleveland, Ohio in 1921, Mac Schweitzer grew up as a tomboy who adored horses, cowboys and art. After training at Cleveland School of Art and marrying, she adopted her maiden initials (M. A. C.) as her artistic name. In 1946, Schweitzer settled in Tucson, joining a circle of influential friends that included anthropologists, designer-craftsmen and Native American artists. By the 1950s, Schweitzer was well-known throughout the Tucson area as an exceptionally talented Southwestern artist. She earned commissions, exhibitions, and many awards for her artwork and became known as one of Tucson’s “Early Moderns.”
She was commissioned to create at least two major public art pieces in Tucson. These include a 100-foot mural of horses in motion at the Tucson Garden Dance Hall in 1952 and several murals depicting Navajo boys on horseback for the new Tucson YMCA in 1953. She exhibited her work extensively in Tucson during that time including shows at the Arizona Inn, Temple of Music and Art, and Tucson Art Center (now Tucson Museum of Art), and also in libraries, galleries, even department stores. She also had a solo exhibition at Camelback Galleries in 1958. This show marked a turning point in her career, as her work shifted toward greater abstraction.
Schweitzer had earned wide recognition for her prize-winning paintings and numerous solo exhibitions and was commissioned to create prominent public art pieces, including murals at the Tucson YMCA and the once-iconic Trader Vic’s restaurant that was located in Old Town Scottsdale before it closed. Her prize-winning works, shows and reviews attest to her captivating career, but after dying in 1962 under mysterious circumstances, Schweitzer’s artistic legacy faded from public view.
“The museum is deeply invested in recovering the contributions of overlooked women artists. This follows our Women of the Southwest, which were some of the first people in the region to paint,” said Andrew Nelson, Chief Curator at Western Spirit. “Her work isn’t conventional Western art. She’s a modernist and she was interested in depicting the world that she saw using a variety of techniques that responded to the immediacy of her need to express it.”
The new exhibit at Western Spirit, located at 3830 N. Marshall Way, Scottsdale, AZ, 85251 will open on October 18, 2025 showcasing some of the almost 500 items, including paintings, sketches, and prints.
The exhibit’s Curator Ann Hedlund is the woman responsible for bringing Schweitzer’s work to Western Spirit and she is doing it in the memory of her late husband and Mac’s son, Kit Schweitzer.
“During the 1950s in Arizona, Mac Schweitzer developed a reputation for award-winning paintings based on her adventures in America’s southwestern deserts and canyonlands. Exploring remote areas, drawn to animal skeletons and derelict buildings, and patiently watching wild animals who lived around her campsites and home, she created captivating scenes that were sought by galleries and collectors but were forgotten after she died in 1962. By studying the previously unknown Schweitzer family art collections and conducting an exhaustive search in newspapers of the time, I’ve been thrilled to discover and reinstate Mac’s lost legacy as one of the Southwest’s highly regarded mid-century artists,” said Hedlund.
Some of the those works include:
- Coyote: Schweitzer painted this animal portrait in 1961, after a road trip to Yellowstone National Park. While she and her family were camping, a coyote trotted by and then returned to hang around. As she did many times with Arizona desert wildlife, Schweitzer watched closely without taking pictures or sketching. Returning home, she painted the well-camouflaged coyote from her mind’s eye.
- Bobcat: This ceramic likeness of the bobcat, created with unglazed terra-cotta and on a wooden base, was sculpted in 1958. This piece is from the Collection of the Tucson Museum of Art, and is a gift of Maurice and Marilyn Grossman.
- Corn Woman: Always observant, Schweitzer’s style of portraying Indigenous people and events was highly personal. Unlike other Southwest artists she did not use photographs or hire native models to pose in contrived settings. Corn Woman is an oil painting of a Hopi woman.
- Prometheus: In a Greek legend, Prometheus, a Titan (born of Heaven and Earth), defies the Olympian gods by stealing fire and giving it to humans. The gods punish the immortal being by eternal torment from an eagle that devours his liver that regenerates daily, only to be eaten again and again. In this blood-red painting created in 1959, Schweitzer chose a vulture with widespread wings to dominate over the tortured Prometheus, who all but disappears beneath the bird’s plumage.
- New Bracelet: This oil painting from 1958 depicts a girl admiring her new piece of jewelry. The quiet and peaceful image inspires visitors to the museum to wonder what might have been going through the girl’s mind.
“We are delighted to be the permanent home of such an incredibly talented and influential Southwestern artist,” said Nelson. “Mac Schweitzer’s story is one of talent and hard work, of success and heartbreak and now—one of celebration as her art endures, here at Western Spirit.”
Museum guests are invited to join Curator Ann Hedlund for a special presentation on Mac Schweitzer’s life and work on Thursday, October 30th from 6:00 — 7:30 p.m. The presentation is included in free for museum members and included in the admission cost or just $10 for just the program. All guests should register for the program here.
The exhibit will run through September of 2026.
For more information about Mac Schweitzer: A Southwest Maverick Rediscovered exhibit, visit westernspirit.org.
Western Spirit Memberships start at $75 and ticket prices run as following;
- $28 for adults
- $25 for seniors and military
- $12 for students
- Children 6 – 17 years of age and FREE for kids 5 and under.
For media inquiries please contact:
Jennifer Parks-Sturgeon — Jennifer@PrattMarketingAgency.com (480) 495-3806
Kendra Riley — Kendra@PrattMarketingAgency.com (480) 220-6051
About Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West: Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West is a world-class cultural destination in the heart of Old Town Scottsdale, where art, history, and storytelling ignite the spirit of the American West. As a proud Smithsonian Affiliate, it’s more than a museum — it’s an experience. Western Spirit is Scottsdale’s cultural crown jewel — a Smithsonian Affiliate that brings the West to life through immersive exhibits, world-class collections, and thought-provoking programs. Housed in a stunning LEED-Gold certified building, it’s a place where locals and visitors discover the enduring legacy of the American West — and the stories that still shape us today. Whether you’re an art lover, history buff, or just curious, this is where the West lives on. For more information, call (480) 686-9539 or visit westernspirit.org.