Traveling from San Francisco, California to Denver, Colorado, the third stop of this six-part virtual road trip, we investigate artist Vance Kirkland’s creative space.
Kirkland’s Studio & Art School, located in Denver’s oldest commercial art building (built 1910–1911), was a space that functioned both as an art school and as his private studio. Even today the space remains saturated with Kirkland’s imagination, innovation, and frenetic energy that allowed him to push the boundaries of his art-making practice.
ABOUT THE HAHS VIRTUAL ROAD TRIP:
Throughout the Spring and Summer of 2021, travel (virtually) from Idaho to New York to discover the environments, architecture, and private landscapes of six different artists and the spaces that supported their art-making practices. This six-part, monthly series ventures deep into the museums and preserved spaces that nurtured the creation of thousands of American artworks. This program is fueled by the James Castle House and the Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios (HAHS) program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
ABOUT KIRKLAND MUSEUM OF FINE & DECORATIVE ART
Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art in Denver has three principal collections, all shown together in salon style, allowing visitors to time travel through about 150 years of art. The Museum features a retrospective of Colorado’s distinguished painter, Vance Kirkland (1904–1981), with examples of his five painting periods and over 30 series spanning from realism to surrealism to abstraction. Kirkland Museum also has one of the most extensive public displays of international decorative art in North America, from about 1870 to the present, with examples of every major design period from Arts & Crafts through Postmodern. The third collection is a major survey of Colorado & regional art. Kirkland’s historic studio & art school building are preserved as part of the Museum. More at kirklandmuseum.org
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