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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
Dancer/Choreographer Paul Taylor studio portrait
Dancer/Choreographer Paul Taylor studio portrait

Dancer/Choreographer Paul Taylor studio portrait

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Paul Taylor studio portrait taken April 3, 1964. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certif...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Dancer/Choreographer Merce Cunningham studio portrait
Dancer/Choreographer Merce Cunningham studio portrait

Dancer/Choreographer Merce Cunningham studio portrait

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of dancer, choreographer Merce Cunningham, studio portrait, 1962. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of auth...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Dancer/Choreographer Paul Taylor and Company Performing 'Orbs'
Dancer/Choreographer Paul Taylor and Company Performing 'Orbs'

Dancer/Choreographer Paul Taylor and Company Performing 'Orbs'

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Dancer/Choreographer Paul Taylor and Company Performing 'Orbs', 1966. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate ...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Merce Cunningham and Steve Paxton performing 'Antic Meet'
Merce Cunningham and Steve Paxton performing 'Antic Meet'

Merce Cunningham and Steve Paxton performing 'Antic Meet'

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Merce Cunningham and Steve Paxton performing 'Antic Meet' in 1963. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of ...

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

Judith Jamison in "Sophisticated Ladies" on Broadway, signed by Jack Mitchell
Judith Jamison in "Sophisticated Ladies" on Broadway, signed by Jack Mitchell

Judith Jamison in "Sophisticated Ladies" on Broadway, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Judith Jamision in "Sophisticated Ladies" on Broadway in 1980. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print recto. Comes directly from the Jack ...

Category

1980s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Merce Cunningham performing 'Rebus' at Westbeth, signed by Jack Mitchell
Merce Cunningham performing 'Rebus' at Westbeth, signed by Jack Mitchell

Merce Cunningham performing 'Rebus' at Westbeth, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Merce Cunningham 'Rebus', 1975. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the lower right and in pencil on the reverse. Comes directly from the Jack Mi...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Joos Pelt, Bonnie Wyckoff, of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, signed by Jack Mitchell
Joos Pelt, Bonnie Wyckoff, of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, signed by Jack Mitchell

Joos Pelt, Bonnie Wyckoff, of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Joos Pelt and Bonnie Wyckoff of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet performing in 1977, signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directl...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Dancer Eliot Feld in costume performing ‘Fancy Free’, signed by Jack Mitchell
Dancer Eliot Feld in costume performing ‘Fancy Free’, signed by Jack Mitchell

Dancer Eliot Feld in costume performing ‘Fancy Free’, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of dancer Eliot Feld in costume performing ‘Fancy Free’, 1965. It is signed by Jack Mitchell on the print recto. Comes directly from the J...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Dancer Silhouette "Airmale/Female', multiple exposure, signed by Jack Mitchell
Dancer Silhouette "Airmale/Female', multiple exposure, signed by Jack Mitchell

Dancer Silhouette "Airmale/Female', multiple exposure, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph Dancer Silhouette titled "Airmale / Female', multiple exposure, 1988. It is signed by Jack Mitchell on the print recto. Comes directly fro...

Category

1980s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Neil Simon
Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Neil Simon

Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Neil Simon

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Neil Simon, photographed in 1981. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate o...

Category

1980s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Colm Wilkenson, Terrance Mann in "Les Miserables" on Broadway signed by Mitchell
Colm Wilkenson, Terrance Mann in "Les Miserables" on Broadway signed by Mitchell

Colm Wilkenson, Terrance Mann in "Les Miserables" on Broadway signed by Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Colm Wilkenson, Terrance Mann in "Les Miserables" on Broadway, 1987. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Colm Wilkenson, Terrance Mann in "Les Miserables" on Broadway signed by Mitchell
Colm Wilkenson, Terrance Mann in "Les Miserables" on Broadway signed by Mitchell

Colm Wilkenson, Terrance Mann in "Les Miserables" on Broadway signed by Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Colm Wilkenson, Terrance Mann in "Les Miserables" on Broadway, 1987. This is the famous photograph published in the New York Times just ...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Film, TV, and Broadway Star Gregory Hines
Film, TV, and Broadway Star Gregory Hines

Film, TV, and Broadway Star Gregory Hines

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Film, Television, and Broadway Star Gregory Hines, photographed in 1980. Comes directly from the Jack Mitc...

Category

1980s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Actor, Producer, and Director John Houseman
Actor, Producer, and Director John Houseman

Actor, Producer, and Director John Houseman

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of actor, producer, director John Houseman , 1973. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authenticity. Jac...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Actor Stacey Keach, director Gene Frankel, and playwright Arthur Kopit
Actor Stacey Keach, director Gene Frankel, and playwright Arthur Kopit

Actor Stacey Keach, director Gene Frankel, and playwright Arthur Kopit

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Actor Stacey Keach, director Gene Frankel, and playwright Arthur Kopit of "Indians" - 1969. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archiv...

Category

1960s 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

Tony Award-Winning playwright Christopher Durang
Tony Award-Winning playwright Christopher Durang

Tony Award-Winning playwright Christopher Durang

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Tony Award-Winning playwright Christopher Durang photographed in NYC in 1981. Comes directly from the Jack Mit...

Category

1980s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Playwright Charles Fuller on the set of his Pulitzer winning "A Soldier's Story"
Playwright Charles Fuller on the set of his Pulitzer winning "A Soldier's Story"

Playwright Charles Fuller on the set of his Pulitzer winning "A Soldier's Story"

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Playwright Charles Fuller on the set of his play "A Soldier's Story" for which he won the Pulitzer Prize, 1982. Comes directly from the ...

Category

1980s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Actress Gloria Foster in "Yerma"
Actress Gloria Foster in "Yerma"

Actress Gloria Foster in "Yerma"

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Actress Gloria Foster in "Yerma" - 1966. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Singer Songwriter Neil Diamond
Singer Songwriter Neil Diamond

Singer Songwriter Neil Diamond

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Singer Songwriter Neil Diamond, studio portrait, 1972. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with ...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Beverly Sills in New York City Opera's 'The Merry Widow'
Beverly Sills in New York City Opera's 'The Merry Widow'

Beverly Sills in New York City Opera's 'The Merry Widow'

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Beverly Sills in New York City Opera's 'The Merry Widow' in 1977. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Arch...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Australian-born coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland
Australian-born coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland

Australian-born coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Australian-born coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland photographed in their New York City apartment in ...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Metropolitan Opera soprano Renata Scotto in 'Norma'
Metropolitan Opera soprano Renata Scotto in 'Norma'

Metropolitan Opera soprano Renata Scotto in 'Norma'

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Metropolitan Opera soprano Renata Scotto in "Norma", 1981, signed by Jack Mitchell on the verso. Comes dire...

Category

1980s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Metropolitan Opera soprano Renata Scotto in 'Norma'
Metropolitan Opera soprano Renata Scotto in 'Norma'

Metropolitan Opera soprano Renata Scotto in 'Norma'

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Metropolitan Opera soprano Renata Scotto in "Norma", 1981, signed by Jack Mitchell on the verso. Comes dire...

Category

1980s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

MET Opera Italian Operatic Tenor Luciano Pavarotti, signed by Jack Mitchell
MET Opera Italian Operatic Tenor Luciano Pavarotti, signed by Jack Mitchell

MET Opera Italian Operatic Tenor Luciano Pavarotti, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Tenor Luciano Pavarotti in 1985, signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certi...

Category

1980s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Metropolitan Opera Soprano Eva Marton
Metropolitan Opera Soprano Eva Marton

Metropolitan Opera Soprano Eva Marton

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Metropolitan Opera Soprano Eva Marton. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authenticity. Jack Mitchell...

Category

1980s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Metropolitan Opera Conductor James Levine, signed by Jack Mitchell
Metropolitan Opera Conductor James Levine, signed by Jack Mitchell

Metropolitan Opera Conductor James Levine, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Metropolitan Opera conductor James Levine, 1982. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. It is a multiple exposure taken on a single...

Category

1980s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, signed by Jack Mitchell
Mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, signed by Jack Mitchell

Mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Mezzo-soprano opera singer Marilyn Horne, 1991. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print recto. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archi...

Category

1990s 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.