Neil Reed Mitchill (often misspelled as Neil Reid Mitchell) was born in New York City in 1858, moving to Connecticut in the 1890's and becoming the first resident artist of Westport.  He painted seascapes, marines and coastal landscapes, often drenched in moonlight.

He studied at the National Academy of Design when it was on 23rd Street.  In his youth, Mitchill was also known as an amateur fancy skater and participated in one of the early international meets in Vienna (showing 500 of 1496 characters).