The A. R. Mitchell Museum is located at 150 E. Main, PO Box 95, Trinidad,
CO, 81082,. Contact: Pat Patrick for more information. $2 Admission
is charged and the museum is open May - September, Tuesday-Sunday, 10 AM
- 4 PM. Please call for off-season hours.
The "Mitchell" is housed in a 1900s western style building with the original tin ceiling, wood floors, and a horseshoe-shaped mezzanine. This spectacular building was a department store when it was originally built. The main floor features a selection of more than 250 original paintings by acclaimed western artist and illustrator Arthur Roy Mitchell and his contemporaries. The mezzanine offers a wonderful gallery space where featured artists exhibit their works. The First Street Gallery features local artists' exhibitions and stimulates the imagination with some of todays finest modern art. The Atrium Gallery at the Mitchell- 148 Main Street, Third Floor, can also be entered through the ground level First Street Gallery. It features working-artist studios and a gallery in a beautiful turn-of-the-century building which displays the work of renowned Western artist, A. R. Mitchell.
Currently on display are vintage cameras depicting the history of photography
from the 1900s to the present and "Century of Commerce" which
portrays the many businesses that contributed to Trinidad's rich history.
The museum houses the Aultman Photographic Collection, scheduled for display
later this year, depicting the history of photography from the 1600s to
the present and "The faces of Trinidad" which portrays the many
cultures and occupations that contributed to Trinidad's rich history.
Visit the Mitch, for a true sampling of what the west once was and what it has evolved to be. You won't be disappointed! It is a four star experience.
A generous grant from Evergreen Corporation funded the final phase of
electrifying the third floor. The third level now houses the First Street
Gallery, Atrium Gallery, Young Artists Gallery, ten artist-in residence
studios, a six wheel pottery studio with six kilns, a children's classroom,
and a combination multimedia Gallery/Little Theater.
The Mitchell houses several art programs including adult pottery classes and children's classes. This collaborative effort with Trinidad State Junior College is just another way that the Mitch acts as a center for the arts in Trinidad.
April 23 - Portraits of Native America: Faces of the American
West Opening and Reception 7-9 p.m. Over 35 paintings depict unique images
of Native Americans designed to allow the viewer to come face-to-face with
the people of the past in order to better understand who they were and who
we are.
April 30 - First Street Gallery Reception honoring the recipients
of the Annual Blue Colt Award High School Art Competition, on display through
May 29, Opening Night and Reception 7-9pm. High School Jazz Ensemble will
perform.
May 15 - 7 p.m. First Annual "Peak Experience" Show. Fishers
Peak will be the featured attraction and subject for artists working in
all media. Awards will be given. For more info and a prospectus, artists
should contact Marilyn Leuszler at .
May 15 - Trinidad Area Art Council K-12 Reading Contest Winners Program,
Mitchell Art Museum, Trinidad.
May 16 - 2-4 p.m. "ARTSTALKS" - Rodney Wood, Understanding
Art You Don't Like, A. R. Mitchell Museum, Trinidad.
May 21 - 22 - 7:30 p.m. & May 23 - 2:30 p.m. "The
Gin Game, a Theatre production by Fred and Harriet Vaugeois in the Loft
Theater Mitchell Art Museum, Trinidad.
June 5 - 10-4 p.m., A. R. Mitchell Museum "Trinidad Road Show"
Appraisal Day with Bernard Ewell.
June 13 - 4 p.m. Koshare Indian Dancers will cap off Trinidad's Santa
Fe Trail weekend with their exciting performance at the Mitchell Art Museum,
Trinidad.
June 25 - 6 p.m. "ARTSTALKS" on Charles Craig by Buzz Reiger
at the Mitchell Art Museum, Trinidad.
June 25 - 7 p.m. "Charles Craig, Indian Painter" Opening
Night & Reception at the Mitchell Art Museum, Trinidad.
July 5 - 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., TSJC Children's Theater Classes ( through
August 6) at the Mitchell Art Museum, Trinidad. For info or enrollment call
Kim Niccoli at TSJC,.
July 5 - 1-4 p.m., Kiwanas Summer Art Camp Week 1 ( through July
16) at the Mitchell Art Museum, Trinidad.
July 16 - 3 p.m., Kiwanas Summer Art Camp 1 Reception at the Mitchell
Art Museum, Trinidad.
July 19 - 1-4 p.m., Kiwanas Summer Art Camp Week 2 ( through July
30) at the Mitchell Art Museum, Trinidad.
July 30 - 3 p.m., Kiwanas Summer Art Camp 2 Reception at the Mitchell
Art Museum, Trinidad.
August 1 - 2-4 p.m. "ARTSTALKS" - Rodney Wood, "The
Price Is Right", A. R. Mitchell Museum, Trinidad.
August 2 - 2-5 p.m. First National Bank YMCA Photoplay Class (through
August 5), A. R. Mitchell Museum, Trinidad.
August 5 - 3 p.m., Photoplay Show and Reception, A. R. Mitchell Museum,
Trinidad.
August 6-7 - 7:30 p.m. & August 8 - 2:30 p.m. TSJC Children's
Theater Production of "Honk!, Jr. "at the Mitchell Art
Museum Trinidad.
September 4 - 7 p.m. Second Annual Trinidad Area Arts Council Fine
Arts Exhibition. Opening and Reception, A. R. Mitchell Museum, Trinidad.
Juried show with cash awards totaling $10,000.
September 6- 7 a.m.-10 a.m., Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast in First Street
area, Mitchell Art Museum, Trinidad.
September 18 - 7 p.m., Good Earth !!! Opening Night and Reception,
A. R. Mitchell Museum, Trinidad.
September 26 - 2-4 p.m. "ARTSTALKS" - Rodney Wood, "You
Be the Judge", A. R. Mitchell Museum, Trinidad.
October 30 - Fund raiser, Black and White, A. R. Mitchell Museum,
Trinidad.
November 27 - 5-9 p.m. Kiwanis Chili Supper with Downtown Parade
of Lights and Santa Visit, A. R. Mitchell Museum, Trinidad.
Arthur Roy Mitchell (), renowned Western artist and historian
was born on his father's homestead west of Trinidad, Colorado. In 1907 he
hired on as a ranch hand in New Mexico. By his late teens, he was sketching
scenes of cowboy life and doing political cartoons for newspapers.
Following the service in World War I, he traveled to New York, where he studied art under Harvey Dunn, George Bridgman and others. During the next 20 years he created more than 160 cover paintings for Western pulp magazines. Summers he spent painting in Colorado and the Southwest.
In 1944 Mitchell returned to Trinidad and started the first art class at Trinidad State Junior College, which he continued for 14 years. In 1959 he designed the official "Rush to the Rockies" emblem commemorating the 1859 Colorado Gold Rush. Concurrently, Mitchell sought to preserve and restore a historic complex of Trinidad buildings-The Baca House, Bloom Mansion and Pioneer Museum. Through his unretiring efforts the Baca-Bloom Museum complex became a reality and he remained Curator until 1975.
"Mitch," as he was affectionately known, received the Honorary Trustees Award from the Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in Oklahoma City in 1976. The mission of the Arthur Roy Mitchell Museum established in 1982, is to perpetuate the cultural legacy of Mitchell by offering rewarding and educational opportunities through historical and artistic experiences.
"You look over the back trail, and you see the fine friends you've made, and you see you've managed to make a living doing something you really loved, so how could anyone ask for more?"___ Arthur Roy Mitchell
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