Charles Dee Mitchell Collection
Scope and Contents
The Charles Dee Mitchell Collection was donated to the Dallas Museum of Art Archives as part of the History of Contemporary Art in Dallas research project, funded by the Texas Fund for Curatorial Research. The collection consists primarily of materials Mr. Mitchell has collected over the years through his interest in art activities in Dallas and his relationships with artists in Dallas and throughout Texas. The collection does not include the personal papers of Mr. Mitchell or records of his writing and curating.
The collection was arranged in three series: Publications, Correspondence, and Artist Work.
The Publications series contains serials covering the Dallas art scene, newsletters of local art organizations, and other publications with articles or literary work by local artists. This series also includes published museum and gallery exhibition catalogues of either local or Texas exhibitions, or exhibitions by Texas artists elsewhere. For this collection, the exhibition catalogues had to include and essay or other narrative text to be considered a publication. Publications are arranged alphabetically by title and date or issue within. This series contains oversize items housed separately which are listed outside of the alphabetical series.
The Correspondence series consists primarily of handmade cards sent to Mr. Mitchell by artist friends and gallery owners. There is a small amount of formal correspondence. The cards are arranged alphabetically by sender. This series contains oversize items housed separately which are listed outside of the alphabetical series.
The Artist Work series contains both images of artist work and art objects. The images of artist work are in multiple formats, including color 35mm slides, transparencies, black and white prints, and digital images on CD. The art objects are artists books and small three-dimensional pieces. Items in this series are arranged alphabetically by artist if foldered and housed in a standard archival box; three-dimension objects are housed in an oversize box.
Dates
- 1975 - 2006
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for public research. Researchers must make an appointment to view this collection.
Biographical / Historical
Charles Dee Mitchell is a freelance art writer based in Dallas, Texas. He is a regular contributor to The Dallas Morning News and Art in America. Previously he has written for Artforum, The New Art Examiner, and ArtSpace. His essays have accompanied exhibitions at the Dallas Museum of Art, The Columbus (Ohio) Art Museum, the Armand Hammer Museum, and many university and commercial galleries. As a curator, Mr. Mitchell has worked with both non-profit and commercial galleries. He is retired from a 32 year career in the book trade during which he worked extensively with university and trade publishers of art and photography books.
Extent
2.33 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Charles Dee Mitchell Collection consists primarily of materials Mr. Mitchell has collected over the years through his interest in art activities in Dallas and his relationships with artists in Dallas and throughout Texas. The collection does not include the personal papers of Mr. Mitchell or records of his writing and curating.
Arrangement
The materials were donated to the archives without an existing order. The collection was arranged in three series: Publications, Correspondence, and Artist Work.
The Publications series: exhibition catalogues had to include and essay or other narrative text to be considered a publication. Publications are arranged alphabetically by title and date or issue within. This series contains oversize items housed separately which are listed outside of the alphabetical series.
The Correspondence series: handmade cards sent to Mr. Mitchell by artist friends and gallery owners are arranged alphabetically by sender. There is a small maount of formal correspondence arranged alphabetically. This series contains oversize items housed separately which are listed outside of the alphabetical series.
The Artist Work series: images of artist work are in multiple formats, including color 35mm slides, transparencies, black and white prints, and digital images on CD. The art objects are artists books and small three-dimensional pieces. Items in this series are arranged alphabetically by artist if foldered and housed in a standard archival box; three-dimension objects are housed in an oversize box.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The items were given to Leigh Arnold, History of Contemporary Art in Dallas project researcher by Charles Dee Mitchell for donation to the archives.
The collection was acquired by the DMA Archives as part of the DallasSITES (history of contemporary art in Dallas, 1963-present) research project (2011-2013).
Processing Information
Processed by Hillary Bober; processing completed 12 August 2012.
Additional description/notes were added for DACS compliance and ArchivesSpace local usage guidelines in 2021.
- Title
- Finding Aid to the Charles Dee Mitchell Collection
- Author
- Hillary Bober
- Date
- 09/17/2012
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2012: Special Collections number assigned as identifier following new protocol. Accession number was 2012.029.
Repository Details
Part of the Dallas Museum of Art Archives Repository