Joan Mitchell
PainterKnown for:
large-scale Abstract Expressionist painting
Education:
School of the Art Institute of Chicago (BFA, 1947; MFA, 1952)
Joan Mitchell studied in Paris and settled permanently in Vétheuil, France, in 1968, developing a large-scale Abstract Expressionist practice rooted in the American gestural tradition while remaining outside its New York institutional context for most of her career. Her paintings - dense, layered fields of brushwork that refer obliquely to landscape and sensation - received serious critical attention only in the last decade of her life. She left her estate to establish the Joan Mitchell Foundation, which has supported artists since 1993.
Joan Mitchell's Gear List(1)
Winsor & Newton
Connection note
Mitchell used oil paints from various manufacturers including Winsor & Newton for her large-scale abstract paintings at Vétheuil. Her materials are documented in the Joan Mitchell Foundation archives.
Product description
Winsor & Newton has manufactured artists' oil colours in London since 1832, and its professional-grade line remains one of the most widely used in studio painting worldwide. The range covers more than 120 pigments, each ground in cold-pressed linseed or safflower oil to a standard of consistency that has changed little since the nineteenth century. Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon were among the many painters who worked from the Winsor & Newton range throughout their careers.
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Last updated March 20, 2026
