A.R. Mitchell

Arthur Roy (A. R. near Trinidad, Colorado to Tipton D. and Bessie A. Mitchell. He had two sisters, Hattie and Ethel "Tot" Mitchell-Erickson. He was the middle child between Hattie and Tot. After several years, the family moved to Trinidad proper, residing four blocks from the Old Santa Fe Trail.

Mitchell went to New Mexico Territory (1850–1912) to work as a ranch hand in 1907. He worked as an artist having enlisted in March 1918 in Walla Walla, Washington. He was a member of the 166th Depot Brigade of the Regular Army National Guard Enlisted Reserve Corps Regiment. Mitchell was discharged on November 30, 1918, after the end of the war. In 1919, he started working for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. There, Dunn, von Schmidt, and Mitchell became lifelong friends. The three frequently traveled to Trinidad to paint the surrounding area. In 1927, Dunn decided to move his classes to his personal studio in Leonia, New Jersey and Mitchell followed him there. His paintings were used on covers of Wild West Weekly, All Western, and Popular Western. Governor Stephen McNichols announced the selection of the emblem to be used on souveniors and promotional items approved by the Centennial Commission.

Educator Mitchell taught at Trinidad State Junior College, where he started the first art class in 1945 and continued to teach there in 1958. During the summer of 1948, he taught art at the Western State College in Gunnison.

Museum co-founder and director Mitchell helped establish both the Baca House and Bloom Mansion as historic sites and are now both parts of the Trinidad History Museum. Baca House is associated with the Historic Resources of the Santa Fe Trail, 1821–1880. In 1955, Mitchell and some friends purchased the Baca House to prevent it from being torn down. They were able to turn it into a museum, with the stipulation that Mitchell would be the curator. He held that position and was the historian of the Trinidad Historic District until 1975. Some of Mitchell's works are among the Baca House collection. He is buried at the Masonic Cemetery in Trinidad, Colorado.

A.R. Mitchell Western Art Museum

Following Mitchell's death, his sister, Ethel "Tot" Mitchell-Erickson, decided to donate her and her brother's western art and historical memorabilia collection to a museum. In 1981, the A.R. Mitchell Western Art Museum was established. The museum's collection has over 350 artworks and thousands of sketches created by Mitchell, as well as works by his contemporaries like Harvey Dunn and Harold von Schmidt, and various western and south western historical objects.