“Mr. Mitchell is a virtual modern-day Vermeer of ordinary black people given dignity through the eloquence of his concentration and touch.”

—Michael Kimmelman, New York Times

Dean L. Mitchell was born 1957, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and reared in Quincy, Florida. He is a graduate of the Columbus College of Art & Design in Columbus, Ohio. Mitchell is well known for his figurative works, landscapes and still lifes. In addition to watercolors, he is accomplished in other mediums, including egg temperas, oils and pastels.

Mitchell has been featured in numerous publications, including the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, American Artist, Artist Magazine, Fine Art International and Art News.

His art can be found in corporate and museum collections across the country, including, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri; Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, Mississippi; Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis, Missouri; Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri; Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri; Beach Museum of Art, Manhattan, Kansas; The Autry National Center, Los Angeles; The Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, Arkansas; Gadsden Art Center Quincy, Florida; Canton Museum of Art, Canton, Ohio, The Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, and the Library of Congress.

He has received the American Watercolor Society Gold Medal, Allied Artist of American Gold Medal in Watercolor and Oil, Thomas Moran Award from the Salmagundi Club in New York, Remington Professional League, and for three years in a row the Best in Show Award from the Mississippi Watercolor Society Grand National Competition. In 2004 and 2007, he received the Autry National Center Award for Watercolor at the Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition and sale. Mitchell is a member of several professional societies, including the American Watercolor Society and the National Watercolor Society.

Dean L. Mitchell is represented by Astoria Fine Art in Jackson, Wyoming, Cutter & Cutter Fine Art in St. Augustine, Florida, E&S Gallery in Louisville, Kentucky, J. Willott Gallery in Palm Desert, California,

Dean Mitchell – American West – Audio Tour

Awards

2010 Awards

Georgia Watercolor Society National Exhibition – 3rd Place
Paint America 2009 – Grand Purchase Award Miniature Category
Southern Watercolor Society 33rd Annual Exhibition “Bronze Award”
American Watercolor Society 143rd Annual Exhibition NY, NY “Silver Medal”
Tallahassee Watercolor Society 21st Tri-State Exhibition “Gold Award”
The 29th Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors, “The Beechmont First & Gold Medallion”
Florida Watercolor Society Non-members Show, “First Place”
The American Artist Professional League 82nd Grand National Exhibition, “Winsor Newton Award”
National Watercolor Society 90th Annual Exhibition, “The Past Presidents Award”
Transparent Watercolor Society of America 34th Annual National Exhibition, “John Dioszegi Memorial Award”
Salmagundi 33rd Annual Juried Painting & Sculpture Exhibition for Non-members
“Dale Meyer’s Medal Award for Watercolor”
Florida Watercolor Society 39th Annual Exhibition, “Guy Beattie Award”
Keystone National 2010 Exhibition of Works on Paper, “1st Place”
Kansas Watercolor Society National Exhibition 2010, Nestor Weigand JR. Purchase Award”

2009 Awards

Southern Watercolor Society 32nd Annual “Best in Show”
Tallahassee Watercolor Society 21st Tri-State Exhibition “Best in Show”
Transparent Watercolor Society of America 33rd National Exhibition “John Singer Sargent Award”
Salmagundi Club 32nd Annual Non-Members Exhibition “Forbes Magazine Award”
Florida Watercolor Society 38th Annual Exhibition “Guy Beattie Award”
California Watercolor Association 40th National Exhibition “CWA Signature Members Award III”
Watercolor West 41st Annual Exhibition “M Graham Company Award”
Miniature Painters, Sculptors/Gravers Society of Washington, D.C. 76th Annual International Exhibition
“Second Place Portraiture”
Allied Artists of America 96th Annual Exhibition “Dale Meyers Cooper Medal for Watercolor”
Keystone National 2009 Juried Works on Paper Exhibition “Phantom Canyon Ranch and Col Arts Americas Award”
American Artist Professional League 81st Grand National Exhibition NY, NY “Alma M Preede Memorial Award”
Miniature Art Society of Florida 35th Annual International Exhibition “Second Place”
Philadelphia Watercolor Society 109th Annual International Exhibition of Works on Paper
“Newman Galleries Award for Excellence”
Kansas Watercolor Society National Exhibition “Charles & Ruth Sanderson Memorial Award”
Kentucky Watercolor Society Aqueous USA 2009 “Preston Art Center/St. Cutherts Mill/Silver Brush Limited Award”

2008 Awards

Missouri Watercolor Society National Exhibition “Award of Excellence”
Seaside Art Gallery 17th International Miniature Art Show – Nags Head, N.C. “First Place”
Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors 27th Annual “Sallie and Gannon Kashiwa Award”
The Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers Society of Washington, D.C. 75th International Fine Arts Miniature
“Third Place” – Watermedia
Salmagundi Club 32nd Annual Non Members Exhibition NY, NY “Thomas Moran Memorial Award”
American Artist Professional League 80th Grand National Exhibition “Frank C Wright Medal of Honor” Watermedia

Solo Museum Exhibitions

2010
Canton Museum of Art, Canton, OH

2009
Leepa Rattner Museum of Art, Tarpon Springs, FL (St. Pete College) “Heart and Soul”

2008
Cornell Museum of Art & American Culture, Delray Beach, FL “Everything’s a Portrait”
Greater Denton Arts Council, Center for Visual Arts, Denton, TX “Imperfect Beauty”

2007
University of West Florida Art Gallery, Pensacola, FL

Solo Shows
Mississippi Art Museum, Jackson, MS 2005
American Jazz Museum, Kansas City, MO 2004
Gadsden Art Center, Quincy, FL 2004

Invitational

2011
Master’s of the American West, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, CA
Coors Western Invitational, Denver, CO
Prix de West Cowboy Museum, Oklahoma City, OK

2010
Master’s of the American West, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, CA
Coors Western Invitational, Denver, CO
Prix de West Cowboy Museum, Oklahoma City, OK

2009
Master’s of the American West, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, CA
Coors Western Invitational, Denver, CO
Prix de West Cowboy Museum, Oklahoma City, OK

2008
Florida State University Museum of Art, Tallahassee, FL “The Story”
Booth Western Art Museum, Carterville, GA “The Black West: Buffalo Soldiers, Black Cowboys & Untold Stories
Master’s of the American West, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, CA
Coors Western Invitational, Denver, CO
Prix de West Cowboy Museum, Oklahoma City, OK

2007
First Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary International Watermedia Masters, Nanjing Library Exhibition Hall, Nanjing, China
Master’s of the American West, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, CA
Coors Western Invitational, Denver, CO

2006
Salon d’Arts, Colorado History Museum, Denver, CO
Master’s of the American West, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, CA

2005
Master’s of the American West, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, CA

2004
Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO “Radiant Souls”