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.
$1,312Sale Price|27% Off
Soprano Dorothy Kirsten at the Metropolitan Opera
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Soprano Dorothy Kirsten at the Metropolitan Opera, 1976. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authentici...
Silver Gelatin
$1,350Sale Price|25% Off
Opera singer Barbara Hendricks performing, Multiple Exposure
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Opera singer Barbara Hendricks - 1991 Multiple exposure on one piece of film. Comes directly from the Ja...
Silver Gelatin
$1,350Sale Price|25% Off
Spanish soprano Monserrat Caballe performing at the Metropolitan Opera
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Spanish soprano Monserrat Caballe performing at the Metropolitan Opera, 1974. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print recto.. Comes direct...
Silver Gelatin
$1,350Sale Price|25% Off
Tenor Jose Carreras at the Metropolitan Opera
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Tenor Jose Carreras at the Metropolitan Opera, 1978. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes dir...
Silver Gelatin
$1,312Sale Price|27% Off
Spanish tenor Placido Domingo portrait by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, portrait by Jack Mitchell, 1977. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Ar...
Silver Gelatin
$1,350Sale Price|25% Off
Spanish soprano Monserrat Caballe performing 'I Vespri Siciliani' at the MET
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Spanish operatic soprano Montserrat Caballe performing "I Vespri Siciliani" at the Metropolitan Opera in March 1974. Comes directly fro...
Silver Gelatin
$1,312Sale Price|27% Off
Tenor Jose Carreras at the Metropolitan Opera
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Tenor Jose Carreras at the Metropolitan Opera, 1978. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes dir...
Silver Gelatin
$1,312Sale Price|27% Off
Soprano Beverly Sills and full dress cast in 'Roberto Devereux' at NYC Opera
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Soprano Beverly Sills and full dress cast in 'Roberto Devereux' at NYC Opera. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a cer...
Silver Gelatin
$1,350Sale Price|25% Off
Metropolitan Opera sopranos Shirley Verrett and Grace Bumbry
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Metropolitan Opera sopranos Shirley Verrett and Grace Bumbry, photographed January 6, 1982. Comes direct...
Silver Gelatin
$1,350Sale Price|25% Off
MET Opera singers Katherine Kubick and Astrid Varnay, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Metropolitan Opera singers Katherine Kubick and Astrid Varnay (stars of 'Jenufa') photographed for the cover of Opera News magazine, 197...
Silver Gelatin
$1,500Sale Price|25% Off
Playwright/Poet Ntozake Shange, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of playwright and poet Ntozake Shange, photographed in 1996, signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Come...
Silver Gelatin
$1,312Sale Price|34% Off
Playwrights Reynolds, Durang, Lapine, Tally, Wasserstein, Finn, and Inaurato
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Playwrights Horizons playwrights Jonathan Reynolds, Christopher Durang, James Lapine, Ted Tally, Wendy Wasserstein, William Finn, Albert...
Silver Gelatin
$1,350Sale Price|32% Off
Author James Purdy
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of author James Purdy, 1976. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authenticity....
Silver Gelatin
$1,500Sale Price|25% Off
Author Christopher Isherwood, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of author Christopher Isherwood, 1974, signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly fro...
Silver Gelatin
$1,350Sale Price|32% Off
Welsh writer, dramatist, and actor Emlyn Williams, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Welsh writer, dramatist, and actor Emlyn Williams, multiple exposure (on a single piece of film) signed by Jack Mitchell on the print ve...
Silver Gelatin
$1,312Sale Price|34% Off
Author and Hemingway biographer A. E. Hotchner, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of author and Hemingway biographer A. E. Hotchner, signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archiv...
Silver Gelatin
$1,312Sale Price|34% Off
Welsh writer, dramatist, and actor Emlyn Williams, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Welsh writer, dramatist, and actor Emlyn Williams, signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Arc...
Silver Gelatin
$1,312Sale Price|34% Off
Playwright Tina Howe, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of playwright Tina Howe, photographed in NYC in 1983. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print recto. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Arc...
Silver Gelatin
$1,500Sale Price|25% Off
Pulitzer prize-winning author John Updike, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of author John Updike, one of only three writers to win two Pulitzer prizes, photographed at his home in 1978. S...
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
$1,350Sale Price|32% Off
Author James Purdy
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of author James Purdy, 1976. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authenticity....
Silver Gelatin
$1,100Sale Price|44% Off
Tony Award-Winning Playwright Terrence McNally, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
16 x 20" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally, signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes direct...
Silver Gelatin
$1,312Sale Price|34% Off
Playwrights Reynolds, Durang, Lapine, Tally, Wasserstein, Finn, and Inaurato
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Playwrights Horizons playwrights Jonathan Reynolds, Christopher Durang, James Lapine, Ted Tally, Wendy Wasserstein, William Finn, Albert...
Silver Gelatin
$1,350Sale Price|32% Off
Pulitzer Prize-winning Playwright Neil Simon
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Playwright Neil Simon photographed March 25, 1981. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authenticity. ...
Silver Gelatin
$1,312Sale Price|34% Off
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 Mi...
Silver Gelatin
$1,350Sale Price|32% Off
Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Edward Albee
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Edward Albee, 1995. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a ...
Silver Gelatin
$1,500Sale Price|25% Off
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 photographed January 20, 1966. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes di...
Silver Gelatin
$1,500Sale Price|25% Off
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 photographed January 20, 1966. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes di...
Silver Gelatin
$1,500Sale Price|25% Off
Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Edward Albee, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Edward Albee, 1995. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print recto. Comes dire...
Silver Gelatin
$1,125Sale Price|37% Off
Academy Award-Winning Dramatist/Screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky - Set of 3 8 x 10's
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
Set of three 8 x 10" vintage silver gelatin photographs of dramatist/screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky photographed at home in 1976, the year he won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay ...
Silver Gelatin
$900Sale Price|40% Off
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...
Silver Gelatin
$900Sale Price|40% Off
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...
Silver Gelatin
$900Sale Price|40% Off
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...
Silver Gelatin
$900Sale Price|40% Off
Large format vintage multiple exposure male nude, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
16 x 20" vintage silver gelatin photograph, multiple exposure male nude. Titled, numbered, dated, and signed by Jack Mitchell on the recto. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Arch...
Silver Gelatin
$1,875Sale Price|31% Off
Martha Graham iconic premiere performance of 'Phaedra'. Signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Martha Graham in her iconic premiere performance of "Phaedra", 1962. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the...
Silver Gelatin
$1,800Sale Price|34% Off
Martha Graham performing "Time of Snow", signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Martha Graham performing "Time of Snow", 1966. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archive...
Silver Gelatin
$1,800Sale Price|34% Off
Martha Graham in 'Alcestis', signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Martha Graham in 'Alcestis', 1962. It was published in Mitchell's 1964 book "American Dance Portfolio". Signed by Jack Mitchell on the p...
Silver Gelatin
$1,800Sale Price|34% Off
Martha Graham, Bertram Ross, performing "Phaedra", signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Martha Graham and Bertram Ross performing "Phaedra", 1962. This photograph was published in Jack's book "American Dance Portfolio" in 19...
Silver Gelatin
$1,800Sale Price|34% Off
Martha Graham, performing "Judith", 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...
Silver Gelatin
$1,800Sale Price|34% Off
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...
Silver Gelatin
$1,800Sale Price|34% Off
Martha Graham "Primitive Mysteries", signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Martha Graham "Primitive Mysteries", 1964. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives wi...
Silver Gelatin
$1,800Sale Price|34% Off
Martha Graham, performing "Judith", 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...
Silver Gelatin
$1,875Sale Price|31% Off
Martha Graham, Paul Taylor and Bertram Ross, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Martha Graham, Paul Taylor and Bertram Ross performing her Greek mythological ballet 'Alcestis', 1962. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the pr...
Silver Gelatin
$1,800Sale Price|34% Off
Martha Graham "Lady of the House of Sleep", signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Martha Graham "Lady of the House of Sleep", 1962. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes dir...
Silver Gelatin
$1,800Sale Price|34% Off
Martha Graham performing "Phaedra", signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Martha Graham performing "Phaedra" in 1966. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives w...
Silver Gelatin
$1,800Sale Price|34% Off
Martha Graham and Bertram Ross in "Phaedra", signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Martha Graham and Bertram Ross in "Phaedra", 1963. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Arc...
Silver Gelatin
$1,500Sale Price|45% Off
Mary Hinkson, Bertram Ross, Richard Kuch 'El Penitente' signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Mary Hinkson, Bertram Ross, Richard Kuch in Martha Graham's "El Penitente", 1970. Signed by Jack Mitchell on the print verso. Comes dire...
Silver Gelatin
$1,275Sale Price|57% Off
Rudolf Nureyev photographed for 'After Dark', 1975. 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
$1,275Sale 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
$1,687Sale Price|43% Off
Rudolf Nureyev photographed just after his debut performance May 10, 1962.
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Rudolf Nureyev photographed in his dressing room just after his triumphant American debut performance May 10, 1962. Comes directly from...
Silver Gelatin
$1,687Sale Price|43% Off
Artist Tom Wesselmann in his New York City studio
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. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authent...
Silver Gelatin
$1,687Sale Price|43% Off
Artist Tom Wesselmann in his New York City studio
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 1971. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authent...
Silver Gelatin
$1,875Sale Price|37% Off
Artist James Rosenquist in his studio, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of artist James Rosenquist in his studio, 1966. Signed by Jack Mitchell on print verso. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives wit...
Silver Gelatin
$1,800Sale Price|40% Off
Artist Carolee Schneemann, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of artist Carolee Schneemann, 1995. Signed by Jack Mitchell on print recto. Comes directly from the Jack...
Silver Gelatin
$1,800Sale Price|40% Off
Artist James Rosenquist in his studio
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of artist James Rosenquist in his studio, 1986. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authenticity. Jack M...
Silver Gelatin
$1,800Sale Price|40% Off
British pop artist and sculptor Gerald Laing in his NYC studio
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of British pop artist and sculptor Gerald Laing photographed in his New York City studio in 1968. Comes d...
Silver Gelatin
$1,875Sale Price|37% Off
Video artist Nam June Paik, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of video artist Nam June Paik in his studio in 1970, Signed on the print verso by Jack Mitchell. Comes direct...
Silver Gelatin
$1,800Sale Price|40% Off
Artist Alex Katz in his studio
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of artist Alex Katz in his studio in 1991. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authenticity. Jack Mitche...
Silver Gelatin
$1,800Sale Price|40% Off
Artist Ellsworth Kelly photographed at his New York studio
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of artist Ellsworth Kelly photographed at his New York studio in 1967. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell...
Silver Gelatin
$1,800Sale Price|40% Off
Artist Ellsworth Kelly photographed at his New York studio
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of artist Ellsworth Kelly photographed at his New York studio in 1967. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell...
Silver Gelatin