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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
ABT  Dancer Lupe Serrano & Rudolph Nureyev Rehearsing for Television, Signed
ABT  Dancer Lupe Serrano & Rudolph Nureyev Rehearsing for Television, Signed

ABT Dancer Lupe Serrano & Rudolph Nureyev Rehearsing for Television, Signed

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of American Ballet Theater ballerina Lupe Serrano and Rudolf Nureyev rehearsing at ABT for a television appearance, 1962. Signed by Jack Mitchell. 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 was made from a Jack Mitchell photograph, and a Jack Mitchell photograph of Audre Lorde...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Artist/Warhol Superstar Ultra Violet and friends Jason McCoy and Ron Caran
Artist/Warhol Superstar Ultra Violet and friends Jason McCoy and Ron Caran

Artist/Warhol Superstar Ultra Violet and friends Jason McCoy and Ron Caran

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Artist/Warhol Superstar Ultra Violet, with friends Jason McCoy and Ron Caran, 1971, nude photographed in 1971 in New York City. Comes di...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein in his NYC studio, signed By Jack Mitchell
Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein in his NYC studio, signed By Jack Mitchell

Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein in his NYC studio, signed By Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein in his New York studio in 1968. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print recto. Comes directly from the Jack Mit...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Dancer Christopher Aponte, nude, signed by Jack Mitchell
Dancer Christopher Aponte, nude, signed by Jack Mitchell

Dancer Christopher Aponte, nude, 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 session for After Dark magazine and was selected and signed by Jack Mitchell as one of his favorites. Jack’s artist statement on his work for the magazine: “After Dark was a magazine of entertainment, theater and the arts. It was a popular magazine, with a gay slant, enjoyed by many gay men, and some broad minded women and men. As well as (I learned years later) many closeted male youngsters. The magazine was ahead of its time, as advertisers were reluctant to place ads in an essentially gay magazine...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Dancer Kirk Peterson, nude, signed by Jack Mitchell
Dancer Kirk Peterson, nude, signed by Jack Mitchell

Dancer Kirk Peterson, nude, 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

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Dancer and choreographer John Clifford, signed by Jack Mitchell
Dancer and choreographer John Clifford, signed by Jack Mitchell

Dancer and choreographer John Clifford, 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

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Jack Mitchell Nude of dancer Jeremy Blanton, 1972
Jack Mitchell Nude of dancer Jeremy Blanton, 1972

Jack Mitchell Nude of dancer Jeremy Blanton, 1972

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Glenford, NY

Jack Mitchell mid-20th Century beautiful nude photograph of ballet and Broadway dancer Jeremy Blanton in 1972. Blanton was a spectacular dancer in numerous international ballet compa...

Category

1970s Modern Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Poet/Photographer/Andy Warhol assistant Gerard Malanga signed by Jack Mitchell
Poet/Photographer/Andy Warhol assistant Gerard Malanga signed by Jack Mitchell

Poet/Photographer/Andy Warhol assistant Gerard Malanga signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Poet/Photographer and Andy Warhol assistant Gerard Malanga photographed in Manhattan in 1970. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the recto. Come...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Liza Minelli, cabaret act at the Persian Room at the Plaza Hotel in NYC
Liza Minelli, cabaret act at the Persian Room at the Plaza Hotel in NYC

Liza Minelli, cabaret act at the Persian Room at the Plaza Hotel in NYC

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

8 x1 0" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Liza Minelli, cabaret act at the Persian Room, photographed for the New York Times, 1966. Liza was 20 years old. Comes directly from the...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein in his NYC studio, signed By Jack Mitchell
Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein in his NYC studio, signed By Jack Mitchell

Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein in his NYC studio, signed By Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of pop artist Roy Lichtenstein in his NYC studio with his recent work, signed By Jack Mitchell on the verso. Comes directly from the Jack ...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

CBS News anchor Dan Rather
CBS News anchor Dan Rather

CBS News anchor Dan Rather

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of CBS News anchor Dan Rather, 1980. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authenti...

Category

1980s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Artist & Writer Yoko Ono in her Manhattan apartment, signed by Jack Mitchell
Artist & Writer Yoko Ono in her Manhattan apartment, signed by Jack Mitchell

Artist & Writer Yoko Ono in her Manhattan apartment, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of artist and writer Yoko Ono (widow of John Lennon) in her Manhattan home in 1985, signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes direc...

Category

1980s 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

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

Andy Warhol Superstar Jane Forth, star of 'Trash'
Andy Warhol Superstar Jane Forth, star of 'Trash'

Andy Warhol Superstar Jane Forth, star of 'Trash'

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

8 x 10" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Andy Warhol Superstar Jane Forth, star of 'Trash', 1970. This is a print that was published by After Dark Magaz...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Joffrey Ballet dancer Christian Holder photographed nude for After Dark Magazine
Joffrey Ballet dancer Christian Holder photographed nude for After Dark Magazine

Joffrey Ballet dancer Christian Holder photographed nude 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

Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein and his wife Dorothy. Signed By Jack Mitchell
Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein and his wife Dorothy. Signed By Jack Mitchell

Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein and his wife Dorothy. Signed By Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein and his wife Dorothy in his New York studio in 1968. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes direc...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Stage and Screen Star Gloria Swanson photographed at her home in New York City
Stage and Screen Star Gloria Swanson photographed at her home in New York City

Stage and Screen Star Gloria Swanson photographed at her home in New York City

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

8 x 10" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Broadway stage and Hollywood film actress Gloria Swanson photographed at her home in New York City in 1965. This is a print that was publ...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Broadway star Joel Grey photographed in Central Park, signed by Jack Mitchell
Broadway star Joel Grey photographed in Central Park, signed by Jack Mitchell

Broadway star Joel Grey photographed in Central Park, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Broadway musical star Joel Grey photographed in Central Park in August, 1968. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Flutist Ransom Wilson, signed by Jack Mitchell
Flutist Ransom Wilson, signed by Jack Mitchell

Flutist Ransom Wilson, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Flutist Ransom Wilson in 1977. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mit...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Actor Al Pacino, signed by Jack Mitchell
Actor Al Pacino, signed by Jack Mitchell

Actor Al Pacino, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of actor Al Pacino, 1979. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives wi...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Sculptor Marisol (Maria Sol Escobar) in her NYC studio
Sculptor Marisol (Maria Sol Escobar) in her NYC studio

Sculptor Marisol (Maria Sol Escobar) in her NYC studio

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of sculptor Marisol (Maria Sol Escobar) photographed in her New York City studio with her sculpture “Guy” in 1968. This is the only print m...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Sculptor George Segal working in his studio
Sculptor George Segal working in his studio

Sculptor George Segal working in his studio

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph Sculptor George Segal in his studio, 1969. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authenticity. Jack Mitch...

Category

1960s 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

Warhol Superstar Joe Dallesandro and his brother Bobby signed by Jack Mitchell
Warhol Superstar Joe Dallesandro and his brother Bobby signed by Jack Mitchell

Warhol Superstar Joe Dallesandro and his brother Bobby signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Warhol Superstar Joe Dallesandro photographed with his brother Bobby in 1970 for "After Dark" magazine. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the v...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Actor Frank Langella, signed by Jack Mitchell
Actor Frank Langella, signed by Jack Mitchell

Actor Frank Langella, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of actor Frank Langella, 1970. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell A...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Warhol Superstar Jackie Curtis 'Women in Revolt' signed by Jack Mitchell
Warhol Superstar Jackie Curtis 'Women in Revolt' signed by Jack Mitchell

Warhol Superstar Jackie Curtis 'Women in Revolt' signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Andy Warhol transvestite Superstar Jackie Curtis photographed in 1970, the year began filming "Women in Revolt". Signed by Jack Mitchell...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Actor, choreographer, dancer Geoffrey Holder signed by Jack Mitchell
Actor, choreographer, dancer Geoffrey Holder signed by Jack Mitchell

Actor, choreographer, dancer Geoffrey Holder signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Actor, choreographer, director, costume designer, dancer Geoffrey Holder, 1963, nude, signed on the recto in ink and on the verso in pen...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Artist Lowell Nesbitt in his Manhattan home & studio, signed by Jack Mitchell
Artist Lowell Nesbitt in his Manhattan home & studio, signed by Jack Mitchell

Artist Lowell Nesbitt in his Manhattan home & studio, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of painter Lowell Nesbitt in his Manhattan studio with his paintings, 1969. Signed on the print verso by Jack Mitchell. Comes directly from...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Artist William Wegman and his beloved dog Fay, signed by Jack Mitchell
Artist William Wegman and his beloved dog Fay, signed by Jack Mitchell

Artist William Wegman and his beloved dog Fay, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of artist William Wegman and his beloved dog Fay, 1995. Signed by Jack Mitchell on print verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archi...

Category

1990s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Dancer Leland Schwantes multiple exposure nude for After Dark  magazine
Dancer Leland Schwantes multiple exposure nude for After Dark  magazine

Dancer Leland Schwantes multiple exposure nude for After Dark magazine

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

Dancer Leland Schwantes multiple exposure nude for After Dark magazine, 1970. Vintage silver gelatin exhibition photograph made by Jack Mitchell. American photographer Jack Mitchell...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

NYCB dancers and twin brothers Peter & Paul Frame
NYCB dancers and twin brothers Peter & Paul Frame

NYCB dancers and twin brothers Peter & Paul Frame

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of NYCB dancers and twin brothers Peter and Paul Frame photographed for Dance Magazine, 1982. Comes directly f...

Category

1980s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Dancer & Choreographer Geoffrey Holder nude, signed by Jack Mitchell
Dancer & Choreographer Geoffrey Holder nude, signed by Jack Mitchell

Dancer & Choreographer Geoffrey Holder nude, 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

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Male model Milton Dean multiple exposure nude, signed by Jack Mitchell
Male model Milton Dean multiple exposure nude, signed by Jack Mitchell

Male model Milton Dean multiple exposure nude, 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

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Art

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Dancer (anonymous), nude study for After Dark magazine, signed by Jack Mitchell
Dancer (anonymous), nude study for After Dark magazine, signed by Jack Mitchell

Dancer (anonymous), nude study for After Dark magazine, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

Dancer, nude study for 'After Dark' magazine, 1971. Vintage silver gelatin exhibition photograph made by Jack Mitchell. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the reverse. American photographer...

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.

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