Majesty in the mountains: Clyfford Still Museum opens

View of inaugural exhibition. Credit: Photo by Raul J. Garcia, image courtesy Clyfford Still Museum.

By Erin Behan

Denver, city of the arts. If that phrase doesn’t ring true, you haven’t seen the new Clyfford Still Museum, which opened on Nov. 18 in Denver’s growing Cultural Arts District.

The new museum is a treasure trove for lovers of modern American art. The two-story, 28,500-square-foot building houses approximately 2,400 works created by the famous Abstract Impressionist artist between 1920 and 1980, nearly 94 percent of Still’s lifetime output.

Gigantic canvases–“1949 No. 1 (PH-385)” is 105 by 81 inches–pop with vibrant color and movement (he was a leader among Color Field painters) and are showcased in a truly stunning, light-filled concrete building by Allied Works Architecture that’s worth a trip in itself. Not what you might expect in a city best known for its outdoor recreation.

If you’re not familiarwith the Still name, it might be because the artist cut off ties from galleries in the 1950s and at the artist’s death in 1980, his estate was sealed off from view until an American city could be found that would be willing to create a museum dedicated to his work on his terms. Quite simply: Up until now, only a limited number of his works have been on view at museums or come up for private purchase.

But don’t show up expecting lunch or a movie on the first generation Abstract Impressionist. Still stipulated that the museum could have no auditorium or restaurant. For once the focus is wholly on the artist who Jackson Pollock said, “makes the rest of us look academic.”

Once you’ve got your tickets, check out the nearby Denver hotels that put you within reach of many downtown Denver attractions: Hyatt Regency Denver, the Crown Plaza Hotel Denver, Hilton Garden Inn Denver Downtown, or Comfort Inn Downtown.

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Erin Behan is a freelance writer and editor out of Brooklyn, N.Y., who counts good food, intoxicating drink and adventurous travel among her favorite things.

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