==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Mitchell married Jane Stevens in 1939 and the couple had a daughter in 1940.<ref name=Independent />
Mitchell married Jane Stevens in 1939 and the couple had in 1940.<ref name=Independent />
==See also==
==See also==
English abstract sculptor
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Denis Mitchell |
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| Born | June 30, 1912
Wealdstone, Middlesex |
| Died | March 24, 1993 (aged 80)
Newlyn, Cornwall |
| Known for | Sculpture |
| Website | denismitchell |
Denis Adeane Mitchell (30 June 1912 – 23 March 1993)[1] was an English abstract sculptor who worked mainly in bronze and wood. A prominent member of the St Ives group of artists,[2] he worked as an assistant to Barbara Hepworth for many years.[3] His work is in the collection of the Tate St Ives,[4] the Art Gallery of New South Wales,[5] the Fitzwilliam Museum,[6] and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.[7]
Mitchell was born in Wealdstone, Middlesex on 30 June 1912.[8] His father was a music hall impresario.[9] In 1913, his parents separated and he moved with his mother and older brother Endell to live with an uncle in Swansea.[9] He grew up in Mumbles and attended the local grammar school.[8]
Mitchell’s obituary in The Daily Telegraph said he had “a happy but unremarkable childhood”.[9] He left school at 16 and worked in various jobs in Swansea, including at an art studio.[9] During this time, he met Dylan Thomas while drinking in the Mermaid pub and the two became friends.[9]
Mitchell briefly enrolled at Swansea Art College in 1930, leaving after a few months to move to Cornwall.[9] The art evening classes he took there were to be the only formal art training he ever had.[8][10]
Move to Cornwall and Second World War
[edit]
In 1930, Mitchell moved to Cornwall with his brother Endell to help renovate his aunt’s derelict cottage at Barnoon, St Ives.[9][11] The pair ended up living there, establishing a market garden and taking odd jobs.[9] Denis became interested in the art scene in St Ives, attending local studio shows and, by the mid-1930s, creating his own paintings.[9]
During the Second World War, Denis worked as a tin miner at Geevor Mine from 1942 to 1945 as an alternative to conscription into the army.[9][11] He was part of the Home Guard, becoming friends with Bernard Leach and Adrian Stokes, both of whom sparked his interest in modern art.[11]
After the war ended, Mitchell continued to work on his market garden as well as as a fisherman from 1946 to 1948.[9] In 1949, Leach mentioned Mitchell’s name to Barbara Hepworth who was looking for an assistant; after a trial day, she hired Mitchell.[1] Mitchell would work for Hepworth for a decade, until 1959.[12] During his time working for Hepworth, he began to create sculptures, first with wood and later with bronze.[11]
The same year, Mitchell was involved in the founding of the Penwith Society of Arts. This came after a split in the St Ives Society of Artists between progressive and conservative members which had, according to The West Briton, “been threatening for some years”.[13] Other founding members included Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Sven Berlin and Wilhelmina Barns-Graham.[13] He was elected chair of the society in 1955.[1]
Mitchell married Jane Stevens in 1939 and the couple had three daughters, the first being born in 1940.[1]
