The Journal of San Diego History
SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY
Summer 2001, Volume 47, Number 3
Gregg Hennessey, Editor
Rock Aisle, Ocean Beach
Alfred R. Mitchell
American, 1888-1972
Oil on Board
Unsigned
Titled and inscribed on reverse
5 1/16 x 6 1/5 inches
Anonymous Lender
San Diego Hills
Alfred R. Mitchell
American, 1888-1972
Oil on Canvas, circa 1950
Signed LR: Alfred R. Mitchell
Titled and inscribed on stretcher
24 x 40 inches
Anonymous Lender
Coldwater Canyon, Arrowhead Hot Springs
Alfred R. Mitchell
American, 1888-1972
Oil on Canvas, 1914
Signed LL: Fred Mitchell
Titled and inscribed on reverse: “Cold Water Canyon Arrowhead Hot Springs by Fred Mitchell, S.D. Academy of Art.”
28 x 31 inches
Gift of Mr. Bruce Kamerling, 81.81.3
May Apple Orchard
Alfred R. Mitchell
American, 1888-1972
Oil on Upson Board, circa 1920
Signed LR: Alfred R. Mitchell
Titled and inscribed on reverse. Further inscribed by artist’s wife: “Just the other side of Grandma’s back lane. The orchard belonged to Walter Jenkins (the one who lived in the old Jenkins store on the other side of the Piles.)”
16 x 20 inches
Courtesy of Dr. Albert and Sharon Cutri
Desert Sunset
Alfred R. Mitchell
American, 1888-1972
Oil on Upson Board
Inscribed LR: Alfred R. Mitchell
Titled and inscribed on reverse
16 x 20 inches
Courtesy of Kevin and Tamara Kinsella
El Capitan Dam
Alfred R. Mitchell
American, 1888-1972
Oil on Canvas, circa 1930
Signed LR: Alfred R. Mitchell
Titled and signed on stretcher
40 x 50 inches
Courtesy of Neil and June Ash
Torrey Pines
Alfred R. Mitchell
American, 1888-1972
Oil on Board, late 1940s Signed LR: Alfred R. Mitchell
15 7/8 x 20 1/2 inches
Courtesy of Alan and Nora Jaffe
Winter in the Cuyumacas
Alfred R. Mitchell
American, 1888-1972
Oil on Upson Board, 1930 Signed LR: Alfred R. Mitchell
Titled and inscribed on reverse
16 x 20 inches
Courtesy of Gary Lang
On the Beach
Alfred R. Mitchell
American, 1888-1972
Oil on Canvas, circa 1947
Signed LL: Alfred R. Mitchell
Titled and inscribed on the stretcher. Further inscribed by artist’s wife: “Ocean Beach done on a class day in the early 1940s. Mac [the family dog] following a student.”
24 x 30 inches
Anonymous Lender
Morning on the Bay
Alfred R. Mitchell
American, 1888-1972
Oil on Canvas, 1923-5
Signed LL: Alfred Mitchell
Titled and inscribed on reverse. Further annotated on Orr’s Gallery label: “7th Street between Date and Cedar looking towards Pt. Loma, c. 1923”
50 x 58 1/4 inches
Gift of Mrs. Alfred R. Mitchell, 84.60
Autumn in Julian
Alfred R. Mitchell
American, 1888-1972
Oil on Canvas, 1928
Signed LR: Alfred R. Mitchell
Titled and inscribed on stretcher
20 x 23 7/8 inches
Gift of Mr. Bruce Kamerling, 81.81.16
Mitchell, Alfred R. (1888-1972)
Painter
Born in York, Pennsylvania on June 18, 1888. Mitchell spent his childhood in New Jersey. As a teenager he prospected for gold and drove a stagecoach in Nevada. He settled in San Diego about 1909 and studied at the San Diego Academy of Art (1913) under Maurice Braun. In 1916 he entered the PAFA 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 (pre-1920) 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 AA; La Jolla AA (Co-founder); San Diego Art Guild (Pres. 1922-23); Chula Vista Art Guild; California Art Club. Exhibited: Panama-California Exposition, San Diego, 1915 (silver medal); PAFA, 1920 (Bok prize), 1927; Painters & Sculptors of Los Angeles, 1923; California State Fair, 1930; California Pacific Int’l Exposition, 1935; GGIE, 1939; San Diego Art Inst., 1956 (Award of Distinction), 1960 (first prize). Works held: San Diego History Center; San Diego Museum of Art; San Diego Public Library; Van Nuys High School; San Diego Museum of Man; YMCA and YWCA, San Diego. Source: Sunlight & Shadow: The Art of Alfred R. Mitchell, San Diego History Center, 1988; PAP; SCA; Fld; AAA 1929-33; Sam.
“Memoirs of Alfred R. Mitchell” in this issue of the Journal
