Arthur Roy Mitchell
Encyclopedia
Arthur Roy Mitchell was an American
artist
and historian
who was born on his father's homestead
west of Trinidad
in Las Animas County
in southern Colorado
.
Usually known as "Mitch," Mitchell in 1907 began work as a ranch
hand in New Mexico
. Soon, he was sketching scenes of cowboy
and western
life and drawing political cartoons for newspaper
s. After United States Army
service in World War I
, he traveled to New York City
, where he studied at Grand Central School of Art
under Harvey Dunn
. By 1940, he had created more than 160 cover paintings for Western pulp magazine
s. During the summers, Mitchell continued to paint in the American Southwest and often invited his mentor Dunn to come to Colorado to sketch the landscapes.
In 1944, Mitchell returned to Trinidad and launched the first art class at Trinidad State Junior College
, where he remained on the faculty until 1958. In 1959, he designed the official "Rush to the Rockies" emblem commemorating the 1859 Colorado gold rush
centered about Cripple Creek
in the Rocky Mountains
. He also sought to preserve and restore historic Trinidad buildings, including the Baca House, the home of the founder of Trinidad, the Bloom Mansion, and the Pioneer Museum. He was the curator for the Trinidad Historic District until 1975.
In 1972, he was named an honorary member of Cowboy Artists of America. In 1973, he was one of twenty-four academics entered into the National Academy of Western Artists. In 1974, he received the Honorary Trustees Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City
, Oklahoma
, as "the man who has done the most for Southwest history" through his paintings.
Four years after his death, the A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art was opened in 1981 on the Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway at 150 East Main Street in downtown Trinidad at the location of the former Jamieson Department Store. The museum displays some 250 of his major works, which are similar in theme to the better known western artists Frederic Remington
and Charles M. Russell. Prints can be purchased in the gift shop. The lifelong bachelor called his paintings "my children."
Among his displayed works, none of which are dated in the museum collection, are "When Nights Are Long", "Lazy Day", "Shadows at the Longhorn", "Homeward Bound", "Morning Friskies", "The Get-A-Away", "Bulldogger", "Holdup at First National Bank", and "Driving off Rustlers". The museum also contains a small Roman Catholic chapel. Mitchell worked in the field of religious paintings and sculpture
as well as the sketching of historical events. All of the Mitchell material is on the ground floor. The top floor of the museum is devoted to the artist Karen Howl.
In 1985, Mitchell retired to Denver
, where he died two years later and is interred. Mitchell's sister, Ethel "Tot" Erickson (1892–1982), laid the groundwork for opening the museum in his honor, completing the task only a year before her own passing.
Mitchell once summed up his legacy, accordingly: "You look over the back trail, and you see the fine friends you've made, and you see you've managed to make a living doing something you really loved; so how could anyone ask for more?"
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
who was born on his father's homestead
Homestead (buildings)
A homestead is either a single building, or collection of buildings grouped together on a large agricultural holding, such as a ranch, station or a large agricultural operation of some other designation.-See also:* Farm house* Homestead Act...
west of Trinidad
Trinidad, Colorado
The historic City of Trinidad is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Las Animas County, Colorado, United States...
in Las Animas County
Las Animas County, Colorado
Las Animas County has the largest area of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. Las Animas County takes its name from the Mexican Spanish name of the Purgatoire River, originally called El Río de las Ánimas Perdidas en Purgatorio, which means "River of the Lost Souls in...
in southern Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
.
Usually known as "Mitch," Mitchell in 1907 began work as a ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
hand in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. Soon, he was sketching scenes of cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
and western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
life and drawing political cartoons for newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s. After United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
service in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he traveled to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he studied at Grand Central School of Art
Grand Central School of Art
The Grand Central School of Art was an American art school in New York City, founded in 1923 by the painters Edmund Greacen, Walter Leighton Clark and John Singer Sargent. The school was established and run by the Grand Central Art Galleries, an artists' cooperative founded by Sargent, Greacen,...
under Harvey Dunn
Harvey Dunn
Harvey Thomas Dunn was an American painter. He is best known for his prairie-intimate masterpiece, The Prairie is My Garden. In this painting, a mother and her son and daughter are out gathering flowers from the quintessential prairie of the Great Plains.-Early life:Dunn was born on a homestead...
. By 1940, he had created more than 160 cover paintings for Western pulp magazine
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
s. During the summers, Mitchell continued to paint in the American Southwest and often invited his mentor Dunn to come to Colorado to sketch the landscapes.
In 1944, Mitchell returned to Trinidad and launched the first art class at Trinidad State Junior College
Trinidad State Junior College
Founded in 1925, Trinidad State Junior College is a two year college located in Trinidad, Colorado, United States, with a secondary satellite campus located in Alamosa, Colorado...
, where he remained on the faculty until 1958. In 1959, he designed the official "Rush to the Rockies" emblem commemorating the 1859 Colorado gold rush
Colorado Gold Rush
The Pike's Peak Gold Rush was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 1858 and lasted until roughly the creation of the Colorado Territory on February 28, 1861...
centered about Cripple Creek
Cripple Creek, Colorado
The City of Cripple Creek is a Statutory City that is the county seat of Teller County, Colorado, United States. Cripple Creek is a former gold mining camp located southwest of Colorado Springs near the base of Pikes Peak. The Cripple Creek Historic District, which received National Historic...
in the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
. He also sought to preserve and restore historic Trinidad buildings, including the Baca House, the home of the founder of Trinidad, the Bloom Mansion, and the Pioneer Museum. He was the curator for the Trinidad Historic District until 1975.
In 1972, he was named an honorary member of Cowboy Artists of America. In 1973, he was one of twenty-four academics entered into the National Academy of Western Artists. In 1974, he received the Honorary Trustees Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, as "the man who has done the most for Southwest history" through his paintings.
Four years after his death, the A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art was opened in 1981 on the Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway at 150 East Main Street in downtown Trinidad at the location of the former Jamieson Department Store. The museum displays some 250 of his major works, which are similar in theme to the better known western artists Frederic Remington
Frederic Remington
Frederic Sackrider Remington was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in depictions of the Old American West, specifically concentrating on the last quarter of the 19th century American West and images of cowboys, American Indians, and the U. S...
and Charles M. Russell. Prints can be purchased in the gift shop. The lifelong bachelor called his paintings "my children."
Among his displayed works, none of which are dated in the museum collection, are "When Nights Are Long", "Lazy Day", "Shadows at the Longhorn", "Homeward Bound", "Morning Friskies", "The Get-A-Away", "Bulldogger", "Holdup at First National Bank", and "Driving off Rustlers". The museum also contains a small Roman Catholic chapel. Mitchell worked in the field of religious paintings and sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
as well as the sketching of historical events. All of the Mitchell material is on the ground floor. The top floor of the museum is devoted to the artist Karen Howl.
In 1985, Mitchell retired to Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, where he died two years later and is interred. Mitchell's sister, Ethel "Tot" Erickson (1892–1982), laid the groundwork for opening the museum in his honor, completing the task only a year before her own passing.
Mitchell once summed up his legacy, accordingly: "You look over the back trail, and you see the fine friends you've made, and you see you've managed to make a living doing something you really loved; so how could anyone ask for more?"