Unsigned!
This drawing is most likely from when Bruce was a WW2 correspondent for Life magazine. While not signed, it was taken from a sketchbook of his work. It was bought in a large collection of his work from a relative's estate.
Matting is approximately 16” x 20”
Visible area of drawing is approximately 11.5” x 15.5”
This vintage drawing does have some condition issues. It is faded and there is smearing of pencil. Please examine pictures closely.
This drawing was taken from a collection of sketchbooks from the artist. It was taken out of the sketchbook for archival and conservation purposes. It is matted in an acid free mat, and supported with an acid free backing. It is stored, and will ship in an acid free archival bag.
Background in Bruce Handiside Mitchell:
Born in Scotland 1908, died 1963 in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.
Bruce Handiside Mitchell was born in Tayport, Scotland in 1908. A student of jazz himself, he used the music and musicians of jazz as inspiration for his artwork. He frequently painted musicians as they performed live, resulting in works with vivid, animated strokes.
Mitchell worked as an artist war correspondent for LIFE magazine during World War II; however, most of his life was devoted to teaching. He was known to have taught at Bucknell University, and some of his papers reside at Susquehanna University. He also painted murals for the U.S. postal service in the 1930's including Columbia Bridge, Brownsville Pennsylvania
In addition to Pennsylvania, he was known to have painted in Keene, New Hampshire, the Adirondack Mountains and on Block Island.
His paintings hang in the permanent collections of Metropolitan Museum and Whitney Museum in New York City; Duncan-Philips Memorial and Library of Congress in Washington DC; William Rockhill-Nelson Museum in Kansas City; Isaac Delgado Museum in New Orleans; and University of Arizona Museum, Tucson; and Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
He is the only artist to ever be awarded all three of the Tiffany, Yaddo and Guggenheim Fellowships