Biography

Richard C. Mitchell is a Professor of Art at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. Trained as a painter and sculptor, he introduced photography as an academic discipline to the Department of Art in the Mid-1970's. He teaches both studio and art history courses in photography. As a Trustee, he advises the Mahoning Valley Historical Society's Arms Museum regarding their photographic archives. He is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Human Values in Medicine of the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in Rootstown, Ohio, and is beginning his 34th year at Youngstown State.

Raised and educated in the North American Midwest, Professor Mitchell has traveled extensively in Latin America to photograph and research Pre-Columbian Art.

"My travels to more than 50 Pre-Columbian sites from Bolivia to Mexico continue to influence my work. It was in Latin America that I truly learned to appreciate the past and connect it to the present with a sense of cultural dignity."