Lionel Lofton (American, b. 1954). Untitled, 1990. Mixed media with collage. 11 x 14 inches (27.9 x 35.6 cm) (sight). Si...

Description

Lionel Lofton (American, b. 1954)
Untitled, 1990
Mixed media with collage
11 x 14 inches (27.9 x 35.6 cm) (sight)
Signed and titled lower right: Lionel Lofton / 90

Property from the Collection, of Paul G. Mitchell, MD., Detroit, Michigan


Dr. Paul G. Mitchell is a true renaissance man: a dedicated army veteran, distinguished physician, and supremely
dedicated patron of the arts, his collecting practices shaped by deep personal relationships with leading figures in
the African American art world.

A contemporary of Dr. Charles H. Wright, the founder of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American
History in Detroit, Dr. Mitchell worked alongside Wright at Hutzel Hospital and held a faculty position at Wayne
State University. His engagement with the arts was not incidental but integral to his intellectual and social circles,
notably, through his friendship with Walter O. Evans, one of the most significant collectors of African American art.
Today, the Evans Center for African American Studies at the Savannah College for Arts & Design is home to an
exceptional collection of works by, among others, Alma Thomas, Elizabeth Catlett, and Edward Mitchell Bannister.
Together, Drs. Mitchell and Evans cultivated their collections with a shared vision, acquiring works that would
come to define the canon of African American visual culture.

Dr. Mitchell's engagement with artists extended beyond collecting- along with Evans, Dr. Mitchell played a role
in the care and cultivation of Romare Bearden, who would go on to receive the 1987 National Medal of Arts,
among other accolades. Beyond Barnes and Bearden, Mitchell maintained friendships with other important artists
including Annie Lee and Brian R. Owens. These seminal relationships reinforced Dr. Mitchell's position within a
network of critical cultural stewards.

Just as Dr. Evans' collection has since been recognized as one of the most important private holdings of African
American art, so too must Mitchell's own collection must be understood within this broader legacy-one informed
by both aesthetic discernment and a commitment to African American historical preservation.



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