Artist Biography

Alfred MITCHELL
1888 - 1972

Alfred Richard Mitchell was born in York, Pennsylvania on June 18, 1888. He spent his childhood in New Jersey, and while a teenager he prospected for gold and drove a stage coach in Nevada. He settled in San Diego in 1908 and studied at the San Diego Academy of Art (1913) under Maurice Braun. In 1916 he entered the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts for further training. After his academic training and a tour of Europe on a scholarship, in 1920 he returned to San Diego where he remained for the rest of his life. His paintings done during his student days were often signed "Fred Mitchell." One of San Diego's most renowned painters and teachers, he died there on November 9, 1972. Member: Contemporary Artists of San Diego; Laguna Beach Art Ass'n; La Jolla Art Ass'n (cofounder); San Diego Art Guild (president 1922-23); Chula Vista Art Guild; California Art Club. Exhibited: Panama-California Exposition (San Diego), 1915 (silver medal); Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1920 (Bok prize), 1927; Painters & Sculptors of Los Angeles, 1923; California State Fair, 1930; California-Pacific International Exposition, 1935; Golden Gate International Exposition, 1939; San Diego Art Institute, 1956 (award), 1960 (first prize). Works held: Reading (PA) Museum; San Diego Museum of Art; San Diego Public Library; Van Nuys High School; San Diego Museum of Man; YMCA and YWCA (San Diego); Irvine (CA) Museum; Fleischer Museum (Scottsdale).

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