1982
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.
Dancer Kevin Brown, nude, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph, signed by Jack Mitchell. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authenticity. This photograph was from a se...
Silver Gelatin
Dancer Daryl Gray photographed nude for After Dark, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph, signed by Jack Mitchell. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authenticity. This photograph was from a session for After Dark magazine and was selected and signed by Jack Mitchell as one of his favorites. Jack’s artist statement on his work for the magazine: “After Dark was a magazine of entertainment, theater and the arts. It was a popular magazine, with a gay slant, enjoyed by many gay men, and some broad minded women and men. As well as (I learned years later) many closeted male youngsters. The magazine was ahead of its time, as advertisers were reluctant to place ads in an essentially gay magazine...
Silver Gelatin
Dancer Keith McDaniel, nude, signed by Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph, signed by Jack Mitchell. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authenticity. This photograph was from a session for After Dark magazine and was selected and signed by Jack Mitchell as one of his favorites. Jack’s artist statement on his work for the magazine: “After Dark was a magazine of entertainment, theater and the arts. It was a popular magazine, with a gay slant, enjoyed by many gay men, and some broad minded women and men. As well as (I learned years later) many closeted male youngsters. The magazine was ahead of its time, as advertisers were reluctant to place ads in an essentially gay magazine at that time. Today they swarm like bees to place their own hot ads in gay publications. I had been photographing on assignment for Dance Magazine well before After Dark was created. Being a friend of William (Bill) Como, the Editor, and being gay, I was called into service, for the life of the publication, to photograph many of the handsome young men and women, who were featured in After Dark. Needless to say, this was enjoyable work for me, Because, mixed in with the hot-looking young guys and gals sent to my studio were some famed performers like Debbie Reynolds, Giancarlo Giannini, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Natalie Wood, Placido Domingo, Sergio Franco...
Silver Gelatin
Joffrey Ballet dancer Christian Holder photographed nude for After Dark Magazine
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph of Joffrey Ballet dancer Christian Holder photographed for After Dark magazine. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certi...
Silver Gelatin
Dancer Daryl Gray nude, signed by Jack Mitchell
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
11 x 14" vintage silver gelatin photograph, signed by Jack Mitchell. Comes directly from the Jack Mitchell Archives with a certificate of authenticity. This photograph was from a session for After Dark magazine and was selected and signed by Jack Mitchell as one of his favorites. Jack’s artist statement on his work for the magazine: “After Dark was a magazine of entertainment, theater and the arts. It was a popular magazine, with a gay slant, enjoyed by many gay men, and some broad minded women and men. As well as (I learned years later) many closeted male youngsters. The magazine was ahead of its time, as advertisers were reluctant to place ads in an essentially gay magazine at that time. Today they swarm like bees to place their own hot ads in gay publications. I had been photographing on assignment for Dance Magazine well before After Dark was created. Being a friend of William (Bill) Como, the Editor, and being gay, I was called into service, for the life of the publication, to photograph many of the handsome young men and women, who were featured in After Dark. Needless to say, this was enjoyable work for me, Because, mixed in with the hot-looking young guys and gals sent to my studio were some famed performers like Debbie Reynolds, Giancarlo Giannini, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Natalie Wood, Placido Domingo, Sergio Franco...
Silver Gelatin
Nude portrait study of ballet dancer Christian Holder for 'After Dark' magazine
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Senoia, GA
Nude portrait study of ballet dancer Christian Holder for 'After Dark' magazine, 1970. This is a vintage silver gelatin photograph made by hand by master photographer Jack Mitchell. ...
Silver Gelatin
Portrait of Black Dancer Darryl Robinson (male nude)
By Roy Blakey
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Roy Blakey (1930-2024). Portrait of Darryl Robinson, ca. 1972. Original photographic print on paper, image measures 11 x 14 inches. Framed measurement 12 x 15 inches. Studio stam...
Photographic Paper
Jack Mitchell Nude of dancer Jeremy Blanton, 1972
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Glenford, NY
Jack Mitchell mid-20th Century beautiful nude photograph of ballet and Broadway dancer Jeremy Blanton in 1972. Blanton was a spectacular dancer in numerous international ballet compa...
Silver Gelatin
110.03.98 by Klaus Kampert - Dance photography, male body, nude, black & white
By Klaus Kampert
Located in Paris, FR
110.03.98 is a limited-edition photograph by contemporary artist Klaus Kampert. It belongs to the series More Typographic Creations. In order to resemble typographic characters, Klau...
Archival Pigment
Portrait of Black Dancer (male nude)
By Roy Blakey
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Roy Blakey (1930-2024). Portrait of Black Dancer, ca. 1972. Original photographic print on paper, image measures 11 x 14 inches. Framed measurement 12 x 15 inches. Studio stamp o...
Photographic Paper
Steven Jan Hoff Gelatin Silver Photograph Mid-20th Century Male Nude Gay Vogue
By Jack Mitchell
Located in Glenford, NY
Jack Mitchell vintage mid-20th Century nude photograph of Dutch dancer Steven Jan Hoff. Copyright Stamped 1972. Photo taken for the iconic 1970's entertainment publication After Dark...
Silver Gelatin
110.01.98 by Klaus Kampert - Dancer Photograph, black & white, male nude
By Klaus Kampert
Located in Paris, FR
110.01.98 is a limited-edition photograph by German contemporary artist Klaus Kampert. This photograph is sold unframed as a print only. It is available in 2 dimensions: *50 cm × 3...
Archival Pigment
