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Charles Dee Mitchell was at the white-hot center of the Dallas-Fort Worth art scene for decades. No mere observer, the writer and curator collected anything that sparked his imagination, from fairy tales and manga to war photography.
A former Half Price Books director, Mitchell (who passed away last November at 74), left behind an amazing array of art and other ephemera, much of which was promised to the Dallas Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Museum-ready pieces were only part of the collection. With many works remaining, manager Temple Shipley approached gallerist Bart Keijsers Koning to offer Dallasites a chance to discover Mitchell’s passions through art.
“A conversation came up with Temple that a certain segment of the work would not be selected by the institutions, and, because Dee was such an elaborate collector, I came up with the idea to give back to Dallas by selling the work at an affordable price point,” he explains.
Half of the initial 300 pieces in “Goodbyes Are Not Forever” (with a median price of $250), were snapped up at the show’s opening. Many photographs, sculptures and works on paper remain, along with stacks of books (4,000 in all!) purchased by Oops Books’ Brandon Kennedy, which offer a glimpse into Mitchell’s eclectic mind.
Says Kennedy, “Dee was basically the most significant buyer in Half Price Books’ history, and his library is very much a reader’s library. You see everything from the complete letters of Samuel Beckett to a large collection of horror and sci-fi mass-market paperbacks.”
Partial proceeds from the sale benefit several institutions that Mitchell supported during his lifetime, including the DMA and the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, and the Amon Carter Museum and Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. “Goodbyes” is a way to say, “so long,” to a beloved local figure and an opportunity to help keep our artistic ecosystem alive.
Says Keijsers Koning of Mitchell, “Art is addictive, and he was writing part of his life through the art, which is a nice way to think about it.”
“Goodbyes Are Not Forever” is open through May 23, Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. or by appointment at 150 Manufacturing St., Suite 201, Dallas.
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