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Jack Mitchell Photography

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
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 Photography

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 Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Choreographer Louis Falco in 'Timewright' costume by Robert Indiana
Choreographer Louis Falco in 'Timewright' costume by Robert Indiana

Choreographer Louis Falco in 'Timewright' costume by Robert Indiana

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of dancer/choreographer Louis Falco in a costume designed and constructed by artist Robert Indiana for the starring role in 'Timewright', 1...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

16 x 20"  Warren Beatty, signed by Jack Mitchell
16 x 20"  Warren Beatty, signed by Jack Mitchell

16 x 20" Warren Beatty, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

16 x 20" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Hollywood Star Warren Beatty in 1978. It is signed by Jack Mitchell on the recto and in pencil on the verso. Comes directly from the Jac...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

American trumpet virtuoso, composer, & conductor Stephen Burns, double exposure
American trumpet virtuoso, composer, & conductor Stephen Burns, double exposure

American trumpet virtuoso, composer, & conductor Stephen Burns, double exposure

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of American trumpet virtuoso, composer, and conductor Stephen Burns, one of Jack Mitchell's unusual beautiful and kinetic double exposures....

Category

1990s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

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 Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Artists (and partners) Robert Indiana and William Katz in bed
Artists (and partners) Robert Indiana and William Katz in bed

Artists (and partners) Robert Indiana and William Katz in bed

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of artists and partners Robert Indiana and William Katz in bed with their pet cat, 1969. An amazing intimate documentary photo of a famous gay couple...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

American playwright and actress Vinette Justine Carroll signed by Jack Mitchell
American playwright and actress Vinette Justine Carroll signed by Jack Mitchell

American playwright and actress Vinette Justine Carroll signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of American playwright and actress, and the first African- American woman to direct on Broadway, Vinette Justine Carroll, 1995, signed by J...

Category

1990s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Native American Prima Ballerina Maria Tallchief in "Swan Lake" signed by Jack
Native American Prima Ballerina Maria Tallchief in "Swan Lake" signed by Jack

Native American Prima Ballerina Maria Tallchief in "Swan Lake" signed by Jack

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Maria Tallchief (America's first major prima ballerina, and was the first Native American to hold the rank), performing "Swan Lake", 196...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Merce Cunningham Performing 'Solo', signed by Jack Mitchell
Merce Cunningham Performing 'Solo', signed by Jack Mitchell

Merce Cunningham Performing 'Solo', signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Merce Cunningham performing 'Solo' in 1975, signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives w...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Gloria Swanson Backstage in her 'Butterflies Are Free' Broadway Dressing Room
Gloria Swanson Backstage in her 'Butterflies Are Free' Broadway Dressing Room

Gloria Swanson Backstage in her 'Butterflies Are Free' Broadway Dressing Room

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

8 x 10" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Gloria Swanson at the Booth Theatre on Broadway where she starred in 'Butterflies Are Free' in 1972, her last major stage role. This is a...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

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 Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

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 Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Photorealist painter Richard Estes, signed by Jack Mitchell
Photorealist painter Richard Estes, signed by Jack Mitchell

Photorealist painter Richard Estes, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of photorealist painter Richard Estes in his studio in 1971. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authentic...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Actress Cicely Tyson, signed by Jack Mitchell
Actress Cicely Tyson, signed by Jack Mitchell

Actress Cicely Tyson, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of actress Cicely Tyson photographed in 1976. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the verso. Comes directly from the Ja...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Broadway & Ballet Dancer & Choreographer John Butler
Broadway & Ballet Dancer & Choreographer John Butler

Broadway & Ballet Dancer & Choreographer John Butler

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Broadway and Ballet dancer and choreographer John Butler, 1984. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archive...

Category

1980s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Israeli Dancer & Choreographer Ze'eva Cohen, signed by Jack Mitchell
Israeli Dancer & Choreographer Ze'eva Cohen, signed by Jack Mitchell

Israeli Dancer & Choreographer Ze'eva Cohen, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Israeli Dancer and Choreographer Ze'eva Cohen, 1975. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell A...

Category

1980s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

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 Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Dancer & Choreographer Merce Cunningham Leaping

Dancer & Choreographer Merce Cunningham Leaping

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

Dancer/choreographer Merce Cunningham leaping, September 1962. Vintage silver gelatin exhibition photograph made by Jack Mitchell. When interviewed i...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Dancer Choreographer Louis Falco in 'Timewright', Signed by Jack Mitchell
Dancer Choreographer Louis Falco in 'Timewright', Signed by Jack Mitchell

Dancer Choreographer Louis Falco in 'Timewright', Signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of dancer/choreographer Louis Falco in a costume designed and constructed by artist Robert Indiana for the starring role in 'Timewright', 1...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Andy Warhol Superstars Joe Dallesandro and Jane Forth, stars of 'Trash'
Andy Warhol Superstars Joe Dallesandro and Jane Forth, stars of 'Trash'

Andy Warhol Superstars Joe Dallesandro and Jane Forth, stars of 'Trash'

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

8 x 10" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Andy Warhol Superstars Joe Dallesandro and Jane Forth, stars of 'Trash', 1970. This is a print that was published by After Dark Magazine ...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Broadway stage actress Gloria Foster, photographed starring in 'Yerma'
Broadway stage actress Gloria Foster, photographed starring in 'Yerma'

Broadway stage actress Gloria Foster, photographed starring in 'Yerma'

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

8 x 10" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Obie Award-winning Broadway (and Off-Broadway) stage actress Gloria Foster, photographed starring in 'Yerma', 1966. This is a print that ...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

16 x 20" Dancer/Choreographer Louis Falco in 'Timewright' signed by Mitchell
16 x 20" Dancer/Choreographer Louis Falco in 'Timewright' signed by Mitchell

16 x 20" Dancer/Choreographer Louis Falco in 'Timewright' signed by Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

16 x 20" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Louis Falco in his modern dance work 'Timewright' wearing a costume by artist Robert Indiana, 1969, numbered 17 of 25. It is signed by J...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Artist Tom Wesselmann in his NYC studio, signed by Jack Mitchell
Artist Tom Wesselmann in his NYC studio, signed by Jack Mitchell

Artist Tom Wesselmann in his NYC studio, signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of artist Tom Wesselmann in his New York City studio in 1969. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitc...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Alwin Nikolais Modern Dance Company Performing 'Aviary', signed by Jack Mitchell
Alwin Nikolais Modern Dance Company Performing 'Aviary', signed by Jack Mitchell

Alwin Nikolais Modern Dance Company Performing 'Aviary', signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph, of the Alwin Nikolais Modern Dance Company performing 'Aviary', 1979. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the ...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Operatic tenor Harry Theyard 'Seige of Corinth' at the MET, signed by Mitchell
Operatic tenor Harry Theyard 'Seige of Corinth' at the MET, signed by Mitchell

Operatic tenor Harry Theyard 'Seige of Corinth' at the MET, signed by Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph, of Operatic tenor Harry Theyard performing "Seige of Corinth" at the Metropolitan Opera in 1975. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print vers...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Paul Taylor & Bettie de Jong performing 'Scudorama', signed exhibition print
Paul Taylor & Bettie de Jong performing 'Scudorama', signed exhibition print

Paul Taylor & Bettie de Jong performing 'Scudorama', signed exhibition print

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

Paul Taylor and Bettie de Jong performing "Scudorama", photographed in 1963. This is a vintage gelatin silver print, selenium toned, made by hand by master photographer Jack Mitchell...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

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 Photography

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 Photography

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 Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

16 year old 'The Waltons' actor Richard Thomas at home with his family
16 year old 'The Waltons' actor Richard Thomas at home with his family

16 year old 'The Waltons' actor Richard Thomas at home with his family

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of 16 year old 'The Waltons' actor Richard Thomas at home with his family at the beginning of his film and television career, 1968. Comes ...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Dancer/Choreographer Paul Taylor performing 'Fibers', signed by Jack Mitchell
Dancer/Choreographer Paul Taylor performing 'Fibers', signed by Jack Mitchell

Dancer/Choreographer Paul Taylor performing 'Fibers', signed by Jack Mitchell

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Paul Taylor performing 'Fibers' in 1962 in a costume designed by Rouben Ter-Arutunian. Signed by Jack Mitchell lower right and in pencil...

Category

1960s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

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 Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Dancer/Choreographer/Director Eliot Feld
Dancer/Choreographer/Director Eliot Feld

Dancer/Choreographer/Director Eliot Feld

By Jack Mitchell

Located in Senoia, GA

American modern ballet dancer/choreographer/director Eliot Feld – 1974. This is an 8 x 10" vintage silver gelatin photograph that was published by a newspaper or magazine which they ...

Category

1970s Pop Art Jack Mitchell Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Jack Mitchell photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Jack Mitchell photography available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of photography 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 photography, 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 photography 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.