Joan Mitchell attended Smith College and the Art Institute of Chicago, where she earned her BFA in 1947 and her MFA in 1950. She abandoned her academic training of representation and turned entirely to abstract painting soon after moving to New York in 1950. She continued her education at the New York School and quickly gained prominence. Mitchell exhibited regularly during the 1950s, and moved to France in 1955, where she resided until her death in 1992. (per Getty ULAN, May 2013)