Dean Mitchell

Dean Mitchell (born 1957) is an American figurative artist who works primarily in watercolor and oil paint. His subjects, derived largely from African American culture, have been cited for their emotional depth, avoidance of facile sentimentality, and accomplished sense of formal design.

Mitchell was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1957, and raised in Quincy, Florida. After graduating from the Columbus College of Art and Design in 1980, Mitchell moved to Kansas City, Missouri and started working as an illustrator at Hallmark Cards. He remained at Hallmark for the next three years and began entering national and international art competitions. When Hallmark terminated his employment in 1983, he decided to pursue painting as a full-time career. His life is the subject of an illustrated book for children, Against All Odds: Artist Dean Mitchell's Story.

Mitchell has also illustrated US postage stamps, such as the 1995 Louis Armstrong stamp in the Jazz Musician series.

Exhibitions Year Exhibit Venue Notes 1990 Reflections ‘90 Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center, Kansas City, MO Juried exhibition. Allen’s oil painting “Big Wind” features a jazz bassist. Other artists included Richard McGill, Dean Mitchell, and Joseph L. Smith. 1996A Dean Mitchell AnthologyMarianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, Manhattan, KSSolo exhibition featuring architectural watercolors, oil paintings, and portraits. 1999The Kansas City Six: A Reunion Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center, Kansas City, MO Exhibit featured art by Leroy Allen, Thomas Blackshear II, Henry Dixon, Jonathan Knight, Dean Mitchell, Ezra Tucker. 2002Black RomanticStudio Museum in Harlem, New York City, NY Artists included Dean Mitchell, Troy L. Johnson, Kadir Nelson and Kehinde Wiley. 2004Works by Dean Mitchell: Coming HomeGadsden Arts Center & Museum, Quincy, FLSolo exhibition. 2004Art: My Window to the WorldAmerican Jazz Museum, Kansas City, MOSolo exhibition featuring 100 oil paintings, drawings, watercolors, and etchings. 2005Second Light Carter Art Center Gallery, Penn Valley Community College, Kansas City, MO Fourteen artists exhibited including Dean Mitchell, Leroy Allen, George Mayfield, and Bonnye Brown. 2005Backbone: Dean Mitchell's Images of African-American MenMississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MSSolo exhibition featuring 45 portraits of African-American men. 2008Dean Mitchell's New OrleansGadsden Arts Center & Museum, Quincy, FLSolo exhibition featuring 42 watercolors, acrylic, and oil paintings inspired by New Orleans before and after Hurricane Katrina. 2008Everything's a Portrait: The Watercolors of Dean MitchellCornell Museum of Art, Delray, FLSolo exhibition featuring watercolors, as well as etchings, drawings, acrylic and oil paintings. 2010Dean Mitchell: Space, People and PlacesCanton Museum of Art, Canton, OHSolo exhibition featuring 40 recent watercolors. 2011Dean Mitchell: Rich in SpiritGadsden Arts Center & Museum, Quincy, FLSolo exhibition. 2015Dean Mitchell: A Place, A Mental SpaceMarianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, Manhattan, KSSolo exhibition of watercolor and oil paintings of scenes from the Pima-Maricopa Reservation (Phoenix, AZ) and the artist's hometown (Quincy, FL). 2016Dean Mitchell's American West: Poverty and the Human SpiritGadsden Arts Center & Museum, Quincy, FLSolo exhibition exploring poverty and the decay of the built environment inspired by visits to the Pima-Maricopa Reservation in Phoenix, AZ. 2020Looking at America and Painting How I Want, What I Want and How I See ItAlbany Museum of Art, Albany, GASolo exhibition featuring watercolor and acrylic paintings.