When I was younger, my Mom would take me to see art all over. One of my favorite places was the Chicago Art Institute where she showed me a collection by my favorite artist, Monet. Very into painting and the interesting world that art opened its doors to, my Mom has always been very supportive of anything remotely creative, which makes me incredibly lucky.

Since moving to Cap Hill, we’ve heard more and more about the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art and what a cool collection they housed; with all of the great feedback, it quickly became #1 on our “To Do” list. Not only does the Kirkland Museum have a nationally recognized collection of art & decor, they also feature the works of Vance Kirkland (1904 – 1981) and 170+ other Colorado native artists.

 

The museum is situated at 1311 Pearl St in the Cap Hill neighborhood of Denver. It’s easy to pass up due to its exterior looking similar to a gated house; this is one of the unique aspects of this museum.

 

Another uniqueness, all artwork is displayed salon style, and spread throughout the building that closely resembles a residential home.

The collection holds everything from snack machines, to furniture, to televisions, and flatware sets. It’s amazing to see the changes and upgrades between the different pieces’ time periods. It’s incredible to see designs of chairs from the late 1800’s resembling IKEA’s best sellers of today (HINT: the chair I speak of is in the shape of a “Z” and is made out of a few pieces of wood – see if you can find it when you visit!).

 

 

 

Named after Ohio-turned-Coloradan painter Vance Kirkland, the Kirkland Museum has many of his originals paintings on display as well as in storage in the basement. Also interesting to observe are Kirkland’s different categories of paintings for different points in his life: realism, surrealism, and abstract to name a few.

 

 

Because there are so many pieces, and because the museum continuously rotates their inventory of pieces, each visit you find a new piece you hadn’t seen previously. This keeps the museum exciting and new even after a few visits. Admission prices are low ($6 for students, $8 for adults), making it easy to visit often to see all the museum has to offer and then some! After our first visit, we purchased a dual membership (two adults included) for $45 for an entire year.

We fell in love with the Kirkland Museum because of the story behind each piece. The staff provides additional tidbits of information that will blow you away, allowing you to easily see things from different perspectives. The museum provides a great place for relaxing and enjoying art that is both fun and educational. Take a trip to the museum for a visit – clear your head and enjoy the beautiful works by both natives and transplants alike. Have fun learning about artists Vance Kirkland and has major contribution to Colorado Art. Hope to bump into you there!

 

Check out DenverSpeax on Facebook.