A woman donated her late husband's Hollywood photography archive and $1 million; the gift will preserve his work for future generations

A photograph serves as a record of a changing society, forgotten places, and forgotten people, decades after they originally existed. Preserving those memories requires persistent and careful conservation, research, and public access. That's why Esther Mitchell chose to deposit her late husband Benn Mitchell's life's work of photography into the hands of the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, and to contribute $1 million to help preserve it. The archive contains photographs and printed materials, the archive has clippings, materials from publications that featured Mitchell’s work, and some of his photographic instruments. The University of Arizona states that the donation will help preserve and study the work of a photographer whose images captured Hollywood, New York City, and everyday American life.

The teenager who turned a passion into a photographic legacy

Benn Mitchell’s connection with photography began when he was a teenager. He received his first camera at the age of 13 and sold his first photograph to Life magazine a few years later. At 17, Mitchell had relocated from NYC to Hollywood, where he took photographs of film stars such as Humphrey Bogart. He was a U.S. Navy photographer during World War II, after which he resumed his career as a photographer and ran a commercial studio in New York with his wife, Esther. Gradually, his career moved beyond celebrity portraits. Mitchell recorded advertising assignments, ordinary moments, and scenes from the street, as well as American Indian life. His photographs of famous people and ordinary people alike make a visual history of various aspects of American culture in the twentieth century.

Why a photographer’s archive matters after his lifetime

A photography archive is not only a collection of images. It also contains evidence of how people lived, worked, travelled, and viewed the world at a particular time. Mitchell's photographs of Hollywood stars capture moments in the history of Hollywood, and his street photographs give glimpses into American cities and communities. Contact sheets, publications, and notes can also provide information about the processes and creative decisions photographers made.

When photographers pass away without proper preservation, their collections of photographs can deteriorate. Professional archives not only conserve these materials, but also preserve them for use by researchers, students, and the public. Hence, Esther Mitchell chose the Center for Creative Photography because of its experience preserving major photographic collections. The center holds a collection of hundreds of archival collections, as well as facilities for conservation, research, and exhibitions. The center will also become the copyright holder of Mitchell's photographs and will be able to use them for educational, exhibition, and research activities through the donation.

How an archive reveals the making of history

The Benn Mitchell archive is valuable because it preserves not only finished photographs but also the materials behind them. In addition to photographs and printed materials, the archive has clippings, materials from publications that featured Mitchell’s work, and some of his photographic instruments. The center will also become the copyright holder of Mitchell's photographs and will be able to use them for educational, exhibition, and research activities through the donation. For researchers, such archives provide insight into how photographers worked beyond the final image. Negatives, notes, published materials, and other related items show how photographs were made and published.

The institution preserving decades of photography

The donation places Mitchell’s work in one of the most important photographic archives in North America. Established in 1975, the University of Arizona’s Center for Creative Photography originated from the archives of five photographers, including Ansel Adams and Harry Callahan. The center maintains around 300 archival collections, including approximately 120,000 fine art prints and millions of additional archival objects such as negatives, letters, and documents. The $1 million endowment accompanying the donation will support collections care, archival storage, student internships, and other preservation work needed to maintain the materials for future study.