Frederic Mizen

Frederic Kimball Mizen was a successful illustrator, painter, and educator known for his depictions of the American Southwest. Showing early artistic promise, he studied at the J. Francis Smith Academy and the Art Institute of Chicago while working as a catalog illustrator for Sears Roebuck. He later gained national recognition, creating magazine covers, billboards, and promotional art for major clients like Coca-Cola and the Santa Fe Railroad.
Mizen frequently traveled to the Southwest, painting Native American subjects and desert landscapes. He also excelled in portraiture, earning corporate commissions. In 1936, he founded the Frederic Mizen Academy of Art in Chicago. After closing the school in 1943, he led Baylor University’s art department, emphasizing commercial art. Mizen spent his later years in Texas and California, completing a series for the Santa Fe Railroad before his death at 76.