Mitchell Wilder

Mitchell A. Wilder
BornAugust 20, 1913
Colorado Springs, Colorado
DiedApril 1, 1979
Burial placeFort Worth, Texas
Alma materMcGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Occupation(s)Director of art museums and art schools, museum program consultant
Years active1935-1979
Employer(s)Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, Chouinard Art Institute, Amon Carter Museum of American Art
Honours

Mitchell (Mitch) Armitage Wilder (August 17, 1913 - April 1, 1979) was an American mid-20th century arts administrator, scholar, and photographer. Between 1935 and 1961 he was the founding curator or director of three art museums: the Taylor Museum of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum at Colonial Williamsburg, and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, Texas. Additionally, as director of the Chouinard Art Institute, Wilder facilitated the incorporation of that school for animators into the California Institute of the Arts.[1]

At each institution, Wilder worked for patrons who had the money needed for ambitious projects: in Colorado Springs, Alice Bemis Taylor; at Colonial Williamsburg, John D. Rockefeller Jr.; in Los Angeles, Walt Disney; and in Fort Worth, Ruth Carter Stevenson. Along the way, Wilder built lifelong relationships with artists, scholars, and other arts administrators that led to many acquisitions, exhibitions, and publications.[2]: 18, 45, 50 [3][4][5]: 159–161 

  1. ^ Kutner, Janet (April 3, 1979). "Carter Museum Thrives Under Wilder's Hand". Dallas Morning News.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference CSFAC History was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pikes Peak Vision was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Folk Art Museum for Williamsburg". The Magazine Antiques: 237. March 1954.
  5. ^ Perine, Robert (1985). Chouinard An Art Vision Betrayed (1st ed.). Encinitas CA: Artra Publishing. ISBN 0-936725-00-1.