From the forward of the book "Drawn to Fashion"
Working in pencil, pen or charcoal, Omaha artist Mary Mitchell made us yearn for the elegant sense of style she portrayed in the clothing advertisements published in the Omaha World-Herald in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
A new book and an exhibit opening Saturday at the Durham Museum chronicle her work. Both are titled "Drawn to Fashion."
Legendary designer Oscar de la Renta, in the forward of the book, praised Mitchell's work and described fashion illustration as a challenging discipline.
"The very best fashion illustrations can capture the essence of a dress or even the direction of a collection," he wrote. "What is left out is as important as what is drawn. While I admire fashion photographers ... Their work gives us a replication of what we see. Through illustration we experience instead the impression of a dress, led by emotion and the artist's view. It is truly the more difficult art."
He said Mitchell's illustrations have enriched the experience of fashion and brought joy to the mind's eye.
Mitchell, an Omaha resident since 1968, was born in Buffalo, N.Y. She was the daughter of Greek immigrants who knew from an early age that she liked to be creative. Her mother encouraged her by buying art supplies and providing piano and dance classes. As a teen, Mitchell took three buses to attend a high school with a special art program.
After high school, with money her mother saved from jukeboxes in their family-owned candy store, Mitchell attended Albright Art School in conjunction with the University of Buffalo. Her degree led her to a position with a New York department store, first as a sign painter and then as a fashion illustrator.
Her husband John's work as an attorney brought her to Omaha in 1968 where she landed a job as a fashion illustrator for Nebraska Clothing Store (later called The Nebraska).
Mitchell enjoyed her work and soon decided to open a studio in Omaha and become a freelance fashion illustrator.
"Mary Seina started calling me from Topp's, then Goldstein-Chapman and Natelson's," she said. Her clients soon included other major Omaha retailers like Herzberg's, Zoob's, Parsow's, Wolf Brothers, I. Eugene's, Norman's Shoes, the Aquila and J.B. Hudson Jeweler. She also worked for many smaller shops.
"I never had models," Mitchell said. "They would give me the article — the dress, the shoes or the coat — and tell me what their budget was to put an ad in The World-Herald. Mary (Siena) would say I want a 30-year-old in this dress or a 20-year-old in this dress. I had to come up with a figure to represent that person she wanted to sell to.
"Some of my ads have different looks because that's what they wanted. I had to have a different technique with each store. I had to make Wolf Brothers look different from Topp's. It was like I was being a salesperson for that particular store."
And, all the ads had to be kept a secret. No advertiser could know what she was drawing for someone else.
The slim and elegant women and men in her ads were typical of fashion illustration.
"In fashion the human form is nine heads tall, but the human form is only eight heads tall," she said. "It has to have an elongated look to look thinner and more glamorous."
Mitchell stopped illustrating in 1989 when she and her husband purchased a group of 16 radio stations. She became vice-president of Mitchell Broadcasting, created the station logos and did all the company's advertising for newspapers and magazines.
Jena Galbrial Gallagher, an Omaha writer and editor who coauthored "Harper's Bazaar: Greatest Hits," worked with Mitchell on the "Drawn to Fashion" book.
Gallagher noted that Mitchell's fashion illustration career was at a time when fashion had evolved from a luxury for the wealthy to a global business with quickly changing trends.
"Mary drew it all, from bell bottoms to ball gowns," Gallagher wrote. "From full skirts to mini-skirts. From leather jackets to leisure suits ... Designers appreciated how she artistically translated their inspirations for countless customers."
Mitchell has resumed fashion illustration in recent years, just for fun, and utilizing the colors she could not put in all those advertisements of earlier decades. Some of her color illustrations will be part of the exhibit at the Durham Museum.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1052, jane.palmer@owh.com
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