In July 2021, John Mitchell Fine Paintings was featured in the Antiques Trade Gazette as the gallery celebrated its 90th anniversary with a special summer exhibition of British and European paintings, pastels and drawings.
Founded in London by John Mitchell in 1931, the family-run gallery was recognised for an approach to dealing that combined the research and study of paintings with a practical understanding of their physical condition. John Mitchell came from a background in picture conservation, and this hands-on approach continued through successive generations of the family. Today, the gallery is run by his grandsons James and William Mitchell.
“We pride ourselves on the fact that not only do we research and write about our paintings, but that we are equally happy to hang and light them in clients’ homes as well as help with the cleaning, restoration and repairs: an academic grasp of paintings balanced by practical know-how,” James Mitchell told the Antiques Trade Gazette.
To mark the anniversary, the Mayfair gallery held a summer exhibition at its Brook Street premises, bringing together a varied selection of Old Master, British and European pictures, including paintings, pastels and drawings dating from the seventeenth to the late nineteenth centuries.
The exhibition was accompanied by a fully illustrated edition of Gallery Notes, the gallery’s long-running publication first launched in the 1950s. Among the works highlighted by the Antiques Trade Gazette was L’Ours blanc, ou Le Repos du Modèle by Belgian painter Alfred Stevens (1823–1906), depicting a reclining model on a polar bear skin.
The feature, “Exhibitions roll back the years”, appeared in the Dealers’ Diary section of the 3 July 2021 edition of the Antiques Trade Gazette.