Cedarhurst Center For The Arts

Specialties

Sculpture and Art Museum

History

Established in 1973.

An extraordinary personal art collection was the reason John and Eleanor Mitchell planned a museum in rural southern Illinois. The museum was built to house the couple’s collection of late 19^th and early 20^th century American paintings and artifacts. The significant collection included works from their friend & fellow collector John Parish, of Centralia. The Mitchells acquired their artwork over four decades, the result of suave business practices, luck, and adventurous exploration. In 1965, they established the Mitchell Foundation to build the Mitchell Museum at Cedarhurst and create an institution that would continue to evolve into the premier art and cultural facility in southern Illinois. The Mitchell Museum opened in 1973 to enrich the lives of southern Illinois residents. Both John & Eleanor died before the museum was completed, but their legacy lives on, bringing the arts to life for all people who visit this unique oasis of art and nature that is Cedarhurst Center for the Arts.