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.
$1,350Sale Price|25% Off
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...
Silver Gelatin
$1,350Sale Price|25% Off
Metropolitan Opera Soprano Leontyne Price, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Metropolitan Opera Soprano Leontyne Price, studio portrait, 1981, signed by Jack Mitchell on the verso in ...
Silver Gelatin
$1,125Sale Price|25% Off
The cast of 'Elizabeth I' on Broadway, with Ruby Lynn Reyner, Hervé Villechaize
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of The cast of 'Elizabeth I' on Broadway, with Ruby Lynn Reyner, Hervé Villechaize, in 1972. This is a won...
Silver Gelatin
$1,350Sale Price|25% Off
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...
Silver Gelatin
$1,350Sale Price|32% Off
Author Christopher Isherwood, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
13 x 19" archival pigment print of author Christopher Isherwood, 1974, signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jack ...
Archival Pigment
$1,875Sale Price|25% Off
Warhol Superstar Jackie Curtis Signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Warhol Superstar Jackie Curtis photographed May 21, 1970. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the verso. Comes dire...
Silver Gelatin
$1,200Sale Price|20% Off
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 ...
Silver Gelatin
$450Sale Price|25% Off
Pop Artist Jasper Johns at the Whitney Museum exhibition of his work
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
8 x 10" vintage silver gelatin photograph of artist Jasper Johns at Whitney Museum exhibition of his work in New York City, October 1977. This is ...
Silver Gelatin
$956Sale Price|36% Off
Paris Opera Ballet principal dancer Patrick Dupond, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Paris Opera Ballet principal dancer Patrick Dupond, photographed for Dance Magazine, 1984. Signed by J...
Silver Gelatin
$1,500Sale Price|25% Off
Artist Robert Indiana with his LOVE sculpture in Central Park, NYC
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of artist Robert Indiana photographed with his LOVE sculpture Manhattan's Central Park in 1971. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Arch...
Silver Gelatin
$1,125Sale Price|25% Off
Famed American Ballet Theatre Dancer Royes Fernandez
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of famed American Ballet Theatre dancer Royes Fernandez, considered to be America's first premier ba...
Silver Gelatin
$2,250Sale Price|25% Off
Artist Robert Indiana with his LOVE sculpture, signed By Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of artist Robert Indiana photographed with his LOVE sculpture in 1969. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the...
Silver Gelatin
$375Sale Price|25% Off
Stage and Screen Star Gloria Swanson posing in the foyer of her NYC home
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
8 x 10" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Stage and Screen Star Gloria Swanson posing in the foyer of her NYC home. This is a print that was published by a newspaper or magazine w...
Silver Gelatin
$1,125Sale Price|25% Off
Swen Swenson, George Reeder and Marc Breaux on Broadway in "Destry Rides Again"
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of wen Swenson, George Reeder and Marc Breaux on Broadway in "Destry Rides Again" in 1960. Comes directly from t...
Silver Gelatin
$975Sale Price|35% Off
Bejart Ballet Dancer Marcia Haydee in Greece, 17 x 22" Exhibition Photograph
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
This photograph of Bejart Ballet principal dancer Marcia Haydee photographed in Athens, Greece (nude under a diaphanous cotton wrap) at dawn in June 1983...
Archival Pigment
$1,350Sale Price|20% Off
Artist Don Bachardy, studio portrait, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of artist Don Bachardy, 1974. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchel...
Silver Gelatin
$1,312Sale Price|25% Off
Comedian Sid Caesar, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Comedian Sid Caesar, 1989. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificat...
Silver Gelatin
$1,200Sale Price|20% Off
Humorist, author & screenwriter S.J. Perelman, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Humorist, author, and screenwriter S.J. Perelman, 1977. Signed on the print recto by Jack Mitchell. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchel...
Silver Gelatin
$975Sale Price|35% Off
Bejart Ballet Dancer Marcia Haydee in Greece, 17 x 22" Exhibition Photograph
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
This photograph of Bejart Ballet principal dancer Marcia Haydee photographed in Athens, Greece (nude under a diaphanous cotton wrap) at dawn in June 1983...
Archival Pigment
$1,350Sale Price|32% Off
Actor Jan Michael Vincent, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of actor Jan Michael Vincent, 1978. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the verso. Comes directly from the Jack ...
Silver Gelatin
$1,200Sale Price|20% Off
Classical music composer Leslie Bassett, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of classical music composer Leslie Bassett, photographed at work in 1999. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the prin...
Silver Gelatin
$1,875Sale Price|25% Off
Warhol Superstar Holly Woodlawn Signed
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Warhol Superstar Holly Woodlawn, 1970. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the verso. Comes directly from the Jack...
Silver Gelatin
$375Sale Price|25% Off
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 ...
Silver Gelatin
$975Sale Price|35% Off
Operatic Soprano Leontyne Price, 17 x 22" Exhibition Photograph
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
This photograph of famed operatic soprano Leontyne Price was taken in 1980 during an album cover session. One of Mitchell's most beautiful color photogr...
Archival Pigment
$1,500Sale Price|25% Off
Abstract Minimalist painter Charles Hinman, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Abstract Minimalist painter Charles Hinman posing with his recent work in 1967. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes direct...
Silver Gelatin
$1,500Sale Price|25% Off
American painter & sculptor Richard Anuszkiewicz, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of American painter and sculptor Richard Anuszkiewicz, signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes...
Silver Gelatin
$1,350Sale Price|25% Off
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...
Silver Gelatin
$1,875Sale Price|25% Off
Photorealist painter Chuck Close with his work, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of photorealist painter Chuck Close photographed with his work in 1981. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the verso. Comes directly from the Jack...
Silver Gelatin
$1,125Sale Price|25% Off
Fashion Designer Willi Smith, Color 17 x 22" Exhibition Photograph
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
Fashion designer Willi Smith, photographed in April 1984. One of Mitchell's most beautiful color photographs. This exhibition print is 17 x 22". Comes dire...
Archival Pigment
$562Sale Price|25% Off
Debbie Reynolds, Blackglama 'What Becomes A Legend Most' signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
Debbie Reynolds photographed in New York City in November 1993 during a session for the Blackglama 'What Becomes A Legend Most' ad campaign, signed by ...
Silver Gelatin
$1,312Sale Price|25% Off
Guitarist, instrumentalist & songwriter Peter Kaukonin, 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...
Silver Gelatin
$375Sale Price|25% Off
Dancer/Choreographer Erick Hawkins
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
American modern-dance choreographer and dancer Erick Hawkins in June 1973. This is an 8 x 10" vintage silver gelatin photograph that was published by a ...
Silver Gelatin
$375Sale Price|25% Off
Nels Jorgensen, Robert Joffrey, and Paul Sutherland rehearsing in street clothes
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
Dancers Nels Jorgensen, Robert Joffrey, and Paul Sutherland rehearsing in street clothes – 1962. This is an 8 x 10" vintage silver gelatin photograph th...
Silver Gelatin
$1,125Sale Price|25% Off
Author Truman Capote At Home, 17 x 22" Exhibition Photograph
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
This photograph of author Truman Capote was taken at his United Nations Plaza apartment in 1980. One of Mitchell's most beautiful color photographs. This exhibition print is 17 x 22"...
Archival Pigment
$918Sale Price|38% Off
Actress and singer Tammy Grimes, Signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Actress and singer Tammy Grimes, 1970. Signed on the verso by Jack Mitchell. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certi...
Silver Gelatin
$1,800Sale Price|40% Off
Artist/Writer Edward Gorey on the Broadway set he designed for 'Dracula', 1977.
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of artist and writer Edward Gorey photographed in September 1977 on the set he designed for the Broadway produc...
Silver Gelatin
$937Sale Price|37% Off
Choreographer Eugene Loring studio portrait signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of famed choreographer Eugene Loring, 1961. Signed on the print verso by Jack Mitchell. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives wit...
Silver Gelatin
$1,875Sale Price|25% Off
Artist Red Grooms with his art installation 'Chicago', signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of artist Red Grooms with his installation "Chicago" in 1968. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitc...
Silver Gelatin
$375Sale Price|25% Off
Obie-winning Broadway stage actress Gloria Foster, photographed in New York City
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 in New York City, 1966. This is a print that was...
Silver Gelatin
$1,500Sale Price|25% Off
British Pop Artist Gerald Laing in his Manhattan studio with recent work
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of British Pop Artist Gerald Laing in his Manhattan studio with recent work, 1970. Comes directly from th...
Silver Gelatin
$1,500Sale Price|25% Off
Merce Cunningham and Carolyn Brown performing 'Antic Meet'
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Merce Cunningham and Carolyn Brown performing "Antic Meet" in 1963. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell A...
Silver Gelatin
$1,050Sale Price|30% Off
American Ballet Theatre at the Kennedy White House in 1962 - Set of 4 8 x 10's
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
Set of three 8 x 10" vintage silver gelatin photographs of the historic visit by the American Ballet Theatre to Washington D.C. for a performance of "Billy the Kid" in the East Room of the White House on May 22, 1962 Visible in photos you can see JFK shaking lead dancer John Kriza's hand, and in another you see Jackie Kennedy and First Lady of the Ivory Coast, Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny, also Eugene Loring and composer Aaron Copland...
Silver Gelatin
$1,312Sale Price|25% Off
Argentinian dancer Julio Bocca, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Argentinian dancer Julio Bocca, 1991. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jac...
Silver Gelatin
$1,875Sale Price|25% Off
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...
Silver Gelatin
$1,350Sale Price|20% Off
MOMA Sculpture Garden on Christmas Night 1965, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of MOMA Sculpture Garden on Christmas Night 1965, part of a series he took that evening. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes ...
Silver Gelatin
$1,350Sale Price|25% Off
Dancer Choreographer Louis Falco 'Timewright' costume by Robert Indiana, Signed
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...
Silver Gelatin
$1,500Sale Price|40% Off
Actor Carroll O'Connor studio portrait
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of 'All in the Family' actor Carroll O'Connor, 1983. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authenticity. ...
Silver Gelatin
$1,125Sale Price|25% Off
Choreographers Lucinda Childs, Laura Dean & Trisha Brown
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Choreographers Lucinda Childs, Laura Dean and Trisha Brown, 1981. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Ar...
Silver Gelatin
$1,200Sale Price|20% Off
Joffrey Ballet dancer Greg Huffman performing 'Rodeo', signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Joffrey Ballet dancer Greg Huffman in "Rodeo", 1976. Signed on the print verso by Jack Mitchell. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell A...
Silver Gelatin
$1,275Sale Price|57% Off
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....
Archival Pigment
$1,875Sale Price|25% Off
Sculptor Isamu Noguchi in his NYC studio, signed By Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of sculptor Isamu Noguchi in his Manhattan studio with his recent work, signed by Jack Mitchell on the verso. Comes directly from the Jack...
Silver Gelatin
$2,100Sale Price|25% Off
Comedian Robin Williams crying like his baby son Zachary signed exhibition print
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
Comedian Robin Williams cries like his new baby son Zachary for Jack Mitchell's camera, photographed in 1984. This is a vintage gelatin silver print, selenium toned, 11 x 14" made by...
Silver Gelatin
$1,125Sale Price|25% Off
Dancer Mikko Nissinen
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Dancer Mikko Nissinen. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authenticity. Jack Mitchell, (1925-2013) b...
Silver Gelatin
$2,040Sale Price|40% Off
16 x 20" Exhibition Print of Artist Frank Stella, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
16 x 20" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Artist Frank Stella in his studio with recent work, 1987. It is signed by Jack Mitchell on the recto and in pencil on the verso. Comes d...
Silver Gelatin
$2,040Sale Price|40% Off
16 x 20" Exhibition Print of Artist Louise Bourgeois, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
16 x 20" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Artist Louise Bourgeois with her work, 1982. It is signed by Jack Mitchell on the recto and in pencil on the verso. Comes directly from ...
Silver Gelatin
$1,500Sale Price|25% Off
Pop Artist Roy Lichtenstein & 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 photographed in his Manhattan loft, 1968. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. C...
Silver Gelatin
$1,500Sale Price|25% Off
Artists John Willenbecker, Robert Indiana, & William Katz with 'LOVE' sculpture
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Artists John Willenbecker, Robert Indiana, & William Katz with Indiana's iconic 'LOVE' sculpture, 1969. Comes directly from the Jack Mi...
Silver Gelatin
$1,312Sale Price|41% Off
Modern dancer Ellen Kogan performing "La Loie: A Tribute to Loie Fuller"
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of modern dancer Ellen Kogan performing "La Loie: A Tribute to Loie Fuller ", 1994. Signed on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jack...
Silver Gelatin
$1,875Sale Price|25% Off
British Pop Artist Gerald Laing & his wife Galina pose for wedding photos signed
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of British Pop Artist Artist Gerald Laing and his wife Galina posing for wedding photos in 1969 (this is an ex...
Silver Gelatin
$375Sale Price|25% Off
Rebecca Wright, Burton Taylor & Russell Sultzbach in Joffrey Ballet's 'Dream'
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
8 x 10" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Rebecca Wright, Burton Taylor and Russell Sultzbach in Joffrey Ballet's production of Sir Frederick Ashton's...
Silver Gelatin