The Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona has received the archive of renowned Life magazine photographer Benn Mitchell, as well as a $1 million gift. Esther Mitchell donated the entirety of her late husband’s archive to help preserve the work of the photographer who captured “American vitality” across the mid-20th century. The $1 million will be used to establish the Benn and Esther Mitchell Endowed Collection Fund. Through the donation, the Center for Creative Photography now holds the copyright to Mitchell’s work, which will be made available for education, exhibition, and scholarly study. Benn Mitchell, born in New York in 1926, received his first camera at the age of 13 and sold his first picture to Life when he was 16.