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Jack Mitchell Art

American, 1925-2013

Over his four-decade career, photographer Jack Mitchell chronicled the changing cultural landscape of mid- to late-20th-century America by capturing the greatest influencers and innovators in the performing and visual arts.

Mitchell, a master of lighting patterns in photography who had his first portrait published at the age of 15, organized more than 5,400 photographic sessions in his lifetime involving a list of sitters that is as astounding as it is long. A veritable roll call of heroes and idols, his studio guests include painters, dancers, actors, comedians, singers, composers, directors, writers, impresarios and anyone else who helped shape the zeitgeist.

During World War II, when he was only 16 years old, Mitchell photographed Veronica Lake for a Daytona newspaper. It was his first celebrity gig, but that didn’t stop the audacious wunderkind from asking the actress to sweep back her signature “peekaboo” locks so he could get her full face in the frame. Lake, who was in Florida to help the war effort and at the peak of her career, politely obliged, and the two later became lifelong friends.

Mitchell, who was openly gay (his long-term partner and manager, Robert Plavik, died in 2009), also struck up a close relationship with Gloria Swanson. From 1960 to 1970, he served as her personal paparazzo, snapping a variety of “candid” shots of the aging but eternally glamorous actress as if she were a pre-mobile/pre-social-media reality star.

The diverse publications in which Mitchell’s work has appeared — in addition to the New York Times, there’s Rolling Stone, Dance Magazine, People, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Time, Harper’s Bazaar and Newsweek — testify to the power of his arresting visual language and its ability to transcend themes and disciplines.

Mitchell also famously shot a series of intimate portraits of John Lennon and Yoko Ono in November 1980, just one month before the Beatles singer was assassinated. A picture from this session became the cover of People’s memorial issue, one of the magazine’s best-selling editions to date.

The showbiz gloss should not distract from Mitchell’s meticulous approach to photography. He insisted on producing his own prints in order to achieve what he deemed museum-quality patina and definition.

“Jack shot many rolls of black-and-white film, and always some color transparencies, of every famous person he photographed,” says Craig Highberger, a friend of the late photographer and the executive director of the Jack Mitchell Archives.

In the world of dance, the field for which Mitchell is best known, his striking and incisive shots of legendary performers and choreographers reflect the visceral energy that these luminaries introduced to the discipline in the 1960s and ’70s, widely considered the Golden Age of American dance theater.

“Jack’s photographs of dancers during his lifetime are a historic chronicle of an amazing period in dance history. He was Alvin Ailey’s dance company photographer from 1961 to 1994,” says Highberger, noting that Mitchell’s collection of 10,000 black-and-white Ailey prints now belongs to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Mitchell’s dance images are at once ethereal and powerfully dynamic. Not only do they evoke movement through elegant poses and disciplined muscular tension, but they also convey an intimate energy radiating directly from his subjects, as if he had magically unlocked a reflective mood or a character trait, without contrivance.

The collection of authentic Jack Mitchell photography on 1stDibs includes his black and white photography, color photography, nude photography and more.

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Artist: Jack Mitchell
Joffrey Ballet dancer Christian Holder photographed for After Dark Magazine
Joffrey Ballet dancer Christian Holder photographed for After Dark Magazine

Joffrey Ballet dancer Christian Holder photographed for After Dark Magazine

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Joffrey Ballet dancer Christian Holder photographed for After Dark magazine. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certi...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

16 x 20"  Andy Warhol Superstar Holly Woodlawn, signed by Jack Mitchell
16 x 20"  Andy Warhol Superstar Holly Woodlawn, signed by Jack Mitchell

16 x 20" Andy Warhol Superstar Holly Woodlawn, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

16 x 20" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Andy Warhol Superstar Holly Woodlawn, 1970. It is signed by Jack Mitchell on the recto and in pencil on the verso. Comes directly from t...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Stage and Film Actress Ruth Gordon
Stage and Film Actress Ruth Gordon

Stage and Film Actress Ruth Gordon

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of stage and film actress Ruth Gordon. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of auth...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Large format vintage multiple exposure female nude, signed by Jack Mitchell
Large format vintage multiple exposure female nude, signed by Jack Mitchell

Large format vintage multiple exposure female nude, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

16 x 20" vintage silver gelatin photograph, multiple exposure female nude. Titled, numbered, dated, and signed by Jack Mitchell on the recto. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Ar...

Category

1990s Abstract Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Italian-American tenor & actor Sergio Franchi
Italian-American tenor & actor Sergio Franchi

Italian-American tenor & actor Sergio Franchi

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Italian-American tenor/actor Sergio Franchi photographed for a feature article, 1973. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives wi...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Martha Graham performing "Clytemnestra", signed by Jack Mitchell
Martha Graham performing "Clytemnestra", signed by Jack Mitchell

Martha Graham performing "Clytemnestra", signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Martha Graham performing "Clytemnestra", 1966. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archive...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Paul Taylor dancer Hernando Cortez, signed by Jack Mitchell
Paul Taylor dancer Hernando Cortez, signed by Jack Mitchell

Paul Taylor dancer Hernando Cortez, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph, signed by Jack Mitchell. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authenticity. This photograph was from a se...

Category

1990s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Tennessee Williams, signed by Jack Mitchell
Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Tennessee Williams, signed by Jack Mitchell

Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Tennessee Williams, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Tennessee Williams, close up portrait with diamond pinky ring, photographed in 1971. Signed by Jack Mitchell in pencil on the print verso. NOTE: minor corner bends/cracks can be slightly matted to conceal. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Artist Dorothy Cantor Pearlstein, signed by Jack Mitchell
Artist Dorothy Cantor Pearlstein, signed by Jack Mitchell

Artist Dorothy Cantor Pearlstein, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of artist Dorothy Cantor Pearlstein (wife of artist Philip), 1989. Signed on the print recto by Jack Mitchell. Comes directly from the Jack...

Category

1980s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Actor & filmmaker Warren Beatty, signed by Jack Mitchell
Actor & filmmaker Warren Beatty, signed by Jack Mitchell

Actor & filmmaker Warren Beatty, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of actor and filmmaker Warren Beatty, photographed the year he wrote, produced, directed and starred in 'Heaven Can Wait', 1978. Signed by ...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Singer Barbara Cook performing, signed by Jack Mitchell
Singer Barbara Cook performing, signed by Jack Mitchell

Singer Barbara Cook performing, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of singer Barbara Cook performing in 1975. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with ...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

16 x 20" dancer/choreographer Paul Taylor in 'Aureole', signed by Jack Mitchell
16 x 20" dancer/choreographer Paul Taylor in 'Aureole', signed by Jack Mitchell

16 x 20" dancer/choreographer Paul Taylor in 'Aureole', signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

16 x 20" vintage silver gelatin photograph of dancer/choreographer and dance company founder Paul Taylor performing his work 'Aureole' in 1963. It is signed by Jack Mitchell on the r...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Actress Maureen Stapleton, 1981, by Jack Mitchell
Actress Maureen Stapleton, 1981, by Jack Mitchell

Actress Maureen Stapleton, 1981, by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of actress Maureen Stapleton, 1981. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificat...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Actress Lauren Bacall, signed by Jack Mitchell
Actress Lauren Bacall, signed by Jack Mitchell

Actress Lauren Bacall, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of actress Lauren Bacall, photographed in 1966. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the recto. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with ...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

British Pop Artist Gerald Laing portrait in his studio signed by Jack Mitchell
British Pop Artist Gerald Laing portrait in his studio signed by Jack Mitchell

British Pop Artist Gerald Laing portrait in his studio signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

British pop artist and sculptor Gerald Laing in his studio on October 30, 1968. Vintage silver gelatin exhibition photograph made by Jack Mitchell. Signed on the reverse by Jack Mitc...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Merce Cunningham, Ellen Cornfield and Charles Moulton performing 'Signals'
Merce Cunningham, Ellen Cornfield and Charles Moulton performing 'Signals'

Merce Cunningham, Ellen Cornfield and Charles Moulton performing 'Signals'

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Merce Cunningham, Ellen Cornfield and Charles Moulton performing 'Signals' in 1970. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authenticity. Jack Mitchell, (1925-2013) bulging photographic portfolio of actors, writers, painters, musicians and especially dancers describes a pictorial history of the arts in the late 20th century. Mr. Mitchell, who took hundreds of pictures for The New York Times, was both a portraitist and a capturer of complex motion. An expert in lighting, he worked mostly, though not entirely, in black and white, and he was known — by his subjects, by the magazine and newspaper editors he worked for, and by critics — as someone who could make a photograph reveal character. Jack Mitchell was the official photographer for the American Ballet Theater, and he chronicled the work of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for more than thirty years. When he retired in 1995, he had fulfilled more than 5,000 assignments in black and white, and nearly a thousand in color. He photographed more than 160 covers for Dance magazine, and his photos have appeared in Time, Life, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Vogue and many other publications. Mitchell’s photographs are in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery, the Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, among others. The 2019 USPS Black Heritage postage stamp honoring American performer Gregory Hines...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

16 x 20" Andy Warhol Superstar Eric Emerson, signed by Jack Mitchell
16 x 20" Andy Warhol Superstar Eric Emerson, signed by Jack Mitchell

16 x 20" Andy Warhol Superstar Eric Emerson, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

16 x 20" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Andy Warhol Superstar Eric Emerson in 1971. It is signed by Jack Mitchell on the recto and in pencil on the verso. Comes directly from t...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

16 x 20" Artist Jasper Johns in his Studio, signed by Jack Mitchell
16 x 20" Artist Jasper Johns in his Studio, signed by Jack Mitchell

16 x 20" Artist Jasper Johns in his Studio, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

16 x 20" vintage silver gelatin photograph of artist Jasper Johns in his studio, photographed in 1977. It is signed by Jack Mitchell on the recto and in pencil on the verso. Comes di...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Dancer/Choreographer Twyla Tharp studio portrait, 1973.
Dancer/Choreographer Twyla Tharp studio portrait, 1973.

Dancer/Choreographer Twyla Tharp studio portrait, 1973.

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

Dancer/Choreographer Twyla Tharp studio portrait, 1973. This is an 8 x 10" vintage silver gelatin photograph that was published by a newspaper or magazine ...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Broadway star Joel Grey in costume for 'George M!'
Broadway star Joel Grey in costume for 'George M!'

Broadway star Joel Grey in costume for 'George M!'

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Broadway musical star Joel Grey in costume for 'George M!', 1968. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Co...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Rudolf Nureyev photographed for 'After Dark', signed by Jack Mitchell
Rudolf Nureyev photographed for 'After Dark', signed by Jack Mitchell

Rudolf Nureyev photographed for 'After Dark', signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

13 x 19" archival pigment color print of Rudolf Nureyev, Soviet-born dancer of ballet and modern dance, photographed for 'After Dark' magazine in New York City on Christmas Day 1975....

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Archival Pigment

British-American Artist Malcolm Morley in his Manhattan Studio
British-American Artist Malcolm Morley in his Manhattan Studio

British-American Artist Malcolm Morley in his Manhattan Studio

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of British-American Artist Malcolm Morley in his Manhattan studio with his paintings, 1971. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives ...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

British-American Artist Malcolm Morley in his Manhattan Studio
British-American Artist Malcolm Morley in his Manhattan Studio

British-American Artist Malcolm Morley in his Manhattan Studio

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of British-American Artist Malcolm Morley in his Manhattan studio with his paintings, 1971. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives ...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Robert Kovak & Chris Komar performing Merce Cunningham's 'Summerspace', signed
Robert Kovak & Chris Komar performing Merce Cunningham's 'Summerspace', signed

Robert Kovak & Chris Komar performing Merce Cunningham's 'Summerspace', signed

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

Robert Kovak and Chris Komar performing Merce Cunningham's 'Summerspace' costumes and backdrop by artist Robert Rauschenberg, photographed in 1975. This is a vintage gelatin silver p...

Category

1980s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Pop Artist Roy Lichtenstein in his Studio, Color 17 x 22" Exhibition Photograph
Pop Artist Roy Lichtenstein in his Studio, Color 17 x 22" Exhibition Photograph

Pop Artist Roy Lichtenstein in his Studio, Color 17 x 22" Exhibition Photograph

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein photographed in his New York studio with new work in 1968. One of Mitchell's most beautiful color photographs. This exhibition print is 17 x 22". Comes di...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Archival Pigment

Jose Limon and Company performing "The Moor's Pavane", signed by Jack Mitchell
Jose Limon and Company performing "The Moor's Pavane", signed by Jack Mitchell

Jose Limon and Company performing "The Moor's Pavane", signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Jose Limon, Pauline Koner, Lucas Hoving, Betty Jones performing his ballet "Moor's Pavane" at Jacob's Pillow, 1951. Signed by Jack Mitch...

Category

1950s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Artist Jack Brusca photographed in his studio with new work
Artist Jack Brusca photographed in his studio with new work

Artist Jack Brusca photographed in his studio with new work

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of artist Jack Brusca, 1969. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authenticity. Jack Mitchell, (1925-201...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Painter Stephen Mueller in his Manhattan Studio
Painter Stephen Mueller in his Manhattan Studio

Painter Stephen Mueller in his Manhattan Studio

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of painter Stephen Mueller in his Manhattan studio with his paintings, 1971. Comes directly from the Jack Mi...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Bob Fosse 'Big Deal' Dance Magazine Cover Shot, 17 x 22" Exhibition Photograph
Bob Fosse 'Big Deal' Dance Magazine Cover Shot, 17 x 22" Exhibition Photograph

Bob Fosse 'Big Deal' Dance Magazine Cover Shot, 17 x 22" Exhibition Photograph

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

This photograph of Bob Fosse and the cast of his Broadway hit 'Big Deal' was taken in 1986 for the cover of Dance Magazine. One of Mitchell's most beautiful color photographs. This e...

Category

1980s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Archival Pigment

Sculptor George Segal in his New York studio, signed by Jack Mitchell
Sculptor George Segal in his New York studio, signed by Jack Mitchell

Sculptor George Segal in his New York studio, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of sculptor George Segal in his Manhattan studio with new work, 1969, signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the J...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Jack Mitchell art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Jack Mitchell art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of purple, blue and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Jack Mitchell in silver gelatin print, pigment print, archival pigment print and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the Pop Art style. Not every interior allows for large Jack Mitchell art, so small editions measuring 5 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Andy Warhol, Nicholas Taylor, and Heidler & Heeps. Jack Mitchell art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $300 and tops out at $2,275, while the average work can sell for $1,250.