Arthur Roy Mitchell

Who was Arthur Roy Mitchell?

Arthur Roy Mitchell was an American artist and historian who was born on his father's homestead west of Trinidad in Las Animas County in southern Colorado.

Usually known as "Mitch," Mitchell in 1907 began work as a ranch hand in New Mexico. Soon, he was sketching scenes of cowboy and western life and drawing political cartoons for newspapers. After United States Army service in World War I, he traveled to New York City, where he studied at Grand Central School of Art under Harvey Dunn. By 1940, he had created more than 160 cover paintings for Western pulp magazines. During the summers, Mitchell continued to paint in the American Southwest and often invited his mentor Dunn to come to Colorado to sketch the landscapes.

In 1944, Mitchell returned to Trinidad and launched the first art class at Trinidad State Junior College, where he remained on the faculty until 1958. In 1959, he designed the official "Rush to the Rockies" emblem commemorating the 1859 Colorado gold rush centered about Cripple Creek in the Rocky Mountains.