Artist

Charles L. Mitchell

active 1890-1905
Also known as
  • Charles L. Mitchell, M.D.
  • Dr. Charles L. Mitchell
Active in
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
  • New Hampshire, United States
Biography

An avid amateur photographer and a leading spokesman for the conservative faction of the Photographic Society of Philadelphia, Dr. Charles L. Mitchell saw little originality in the Pictorialist photographs that were increasingly exhibited in the society's annual Salon. He criticized Gertrude Käsebier's works as "foggy" and described those of Clarence H. White as portraying "the ugliness cult."

In keeping with his scientific training, Mitchell preferred straightforward representational photography. Using his camera to record the beauty he found in nature, he made no attempt to alter his vew through manipulation of the negative or print. Mitchell often traveled to the White Mountains of New Hampshire to photograph at Crawford Notch and other scenic areas in New England.

Merry A. Foresta American Photographs: The First Century (Washington, D.C.: National Museum of American Art with the Smithsonian Institution Press, 1996)

Works by this artist (5 items)

View all artworks
Charles L. Mitchell, Walkway through a Gorge, White Mountains, ca. 1890, salted paper print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.91.124
Walkway through a Gorge, White Mountains
Artist
Dateca. 1890
salted paper print
Not on view
Charles L. Mitchell, Crawford Notch, White Mountains, ca. 1890, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.91.123
Crawford Notch, White Mountains
Artist
Dateca. 1890
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Charles L. Mitchell, Ellis River, White Mountains, ca. 1890, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.91.121
Ellis River, White Mountains
Artist
Dateca. 1890
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Charles L. Mitchell, The Pool, White Mountains, ca. 1890, salted paper print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.91.122
The Pool, White Mountains
Artist
Dateca. 1890
salted paper print
Not on view