{"title":"Mitchell, Arthur Croft (1872–1956)","description":"\u003cp\u003eArthur Croft Mitchell (1872–1956) was born in Birmingham to Manoah Mitchell, a wealthy linen draper, and Fanny Croft. His maternal grandfather was the church architect John Croft, and his uncle was the successful landscape painter Arthur Croft (1828–1902), who greatly encouraged his talent for drawing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1898, Mitchell enrolled at the Slade School, where he studied under Frederic Brown, Henry Tonks and Philip Wilson Steer. Fellow students included Harold Gilman, William Orpen, and the portrait photographer Charles Beresford. Augustus John, who graduated the year before, was also a regular visitor. Arthur then spent two years at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris's Montparnasse district, where he came under the direct influence of the Impressionists and exhibited in the Paris Salon.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOnce he had returned from Paris, Mitchell based himself in London's Chelsea and satisfied his romantic nature painting large canvases on themes such as Arthurian myth. Inspired by his love of Vermeer, he also specialised in interior scenes, and he exhibited at the New English Art Club, the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and the Paris Salon.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1913, Mitchell built a grand townhouse with a studio, Vale End, at 32 Mallord Street, Chelsea, where he lived for the next forty-two years. During World War One he was called upon to assist at the Foreign Office, and worked for a time as a temporary ministerial secretary in Copenhagen. The War took its toll on his eyesight and following his return to full-time painting in 1920, he produced predominantly landscapes and still lifes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAround this time he met Evelyn Violet Ware (known as Molly) at Chelsea Arts Ball; they married in 1926 and settled into life at Vale End together. The portrait artist Augustus John moved in next door. They couple went on to have two children, Colin Ware Mitchell (1927–2015) and the archaeologist Terence Croft Mitchell (1929–2019). The family also spent time at the country house of Mitchell's parents, Madeira House, Wadhurst, Sussex.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"arthur-croft-mitchell-the-orange-dress-original-1920s-oil-painting-kc-978","title":"Arthur Croft Mitchell, The Orange Dress – 1920s oil painting","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original 1920s oil painting – Arthur Croft Mitchell, The Orange Dress.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA stunning large-scale decorative work by the English artist Arthur Croft Mitchell (1872–1956). The painting, titled 'The Orange Dress', shows a beautiful young woman in 1920s dress sitting on high above a coastal backdrop, bathed in soft warm light.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe model in the painting is likely the artist's new wife, Evelyn Violet Ware (known as Molly), who was fourteen years his junior and became his enduring muse. The couple married in 1926, and that same year both husband and wife painted views at Ragusa, Sicily. Was this clifftop precipice also inspired by Sicily's dramatic coastline?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe painting embodies an Art Deco aesthetic, drawing on classical references, in the geometric stone plinth, and also art historical allusions—with Mitchell's languid muse Venus-like against the ocean vista and bearing more than a passing resemblance to Vermeer's turbaned Girl with a Pearl Earring.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMitchell was particularly known for his portraits and psychologically charged interiors, and had great admiration for Vermeer. He was taught at the Slade by Philip Wilson Steer (1860–1942), whose impressionistic style was an influence, and 'The Orange Dress' can be seen to be within the context of Steer and James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) who both depicted young ladies at leisure and used the sitter's dress as the painting's name. In doing so the painting is not so much a portrait as a meditation on aesthetics, colour and form. Mitchell's painting is also monumental in scale, another device that takes the work into the realm of decorative mural.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOil on canvas in a substantial period gilt frame.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53629892034889,"sku":"KC-978","price":995.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KC-978.jpg?v=1767877537"}],"url":"https:\/\/somersetandwood.com\/fr-eu\/collections\/mitchell-arthur-croft-1872-1956.oembed","provider":"Somerset \u0026 Wood Fine Art","version":"1.0","type":"link"}