User:Merceroctober/sandbox

Mercer Alfonzo Redcross III (born April 4, 1948)  is an American art consultant, art historian and art collector who interest in the arts began while he was an assistant bank examiner for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Mercer Redcross and Evelyn Redcross founded the October Gallery in 1985 which is one of the oldest African American art galleries in the nation. He has also worked as a museum curator and promoting art shows and large art expositions.

Early life
Mercer Redcross was born on April 4, 1948. After attending Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee 1965 - 1968 he earned a BS from Cheyney University of Pennsylvania in 1971, majoring in economics. Later earning a MBA from Eastern University, St. Davids, Pennsylvania. Redcross worked as an assistant bank examiner at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia in the early 1970s.

Career
After working for the Federal Reserve Bank for just over three years, Redcross started a general contracting business repairing old houses in Philadelphia, PA that lead him to eventually become a licensed associate real estate broker. In 1985 Mercer Redcross and Evelyn Redcross opened the October Gallery at 3805 Lancaster Ave in Philadelphia. October Gallery operated from this location for nine years. During the 1990s October Gallery operated six locations: two in Philadelphia – Old City 68 N. 2nd Street and The Gallery Mall East on Market Street; one in Cherry Hill, New Jersey; one in Echelon, New Jersey; one in Burlington, New Jersey; and one in Washington, DC. Now the gallery is located in the Germantown section of the city October Gallery also presents the Philadelphia International Art Expo every year. This event, from 1998 to 2010 was the nation’s largest African American Art expo. The book Connecting People with Art by Evelyn Redcross and Mercer Redcross is a recap of the Expo            Jill Scott. As part of an effort to expose the gallery to a larger audience Redcross opened the 7165 Lounge