DENVER, March 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art opened its highly anticipated new building at 1201 Bannock Street to the public on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at 11 a.m. Kirkland Museum’s new building, clad in wonderful shades of golden terra cotta and glass tiles in Denver’s Golden Triangle Creative District, is only steps away from the Denver Art Museum and Clyfford Still Museum.
“Our new location offers far greater visibility for the museum’s three collections—international decorative art, Colorado and regional art, and the work of Vance Kirkland—which will complement the collections of the museums nearby and make it even more convenient for art lovers to experience all the internationally important artwork Denver offers in the Golden Triangle,” says Hugh Grant, Kirkland Museum’s Founding Director and Curator.
All three collections are displayed chronologically in salon style, allowing visitors to time travel as they walk through the new building. The museum has acquired a number of stunning new pieces in each of the three collection areas that were unveiled today. Highlights from the international decorative art acquisitions include:
- A one-of-a-kind Art Nouveau Aux Orchidées Bed, c. 1900, by Louis Majorelle (1859–1926)
- The Glasgow style chair for the Room de Luxe in the Willow Tea Room, 1903, by Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868–1928). There are only six surviving low-back chairs like this known, and this is the only one in the United States. Kirkland Museum has three different Mackintosh chairs on display.
- The Modern Mesa Coffee Table, 1951, by T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings (1905–1976)
Kirkland Museum features an inaugural exhibition of 19th and 20th century American prints, Prints Near and Far: Contrasting Regional and National Prints from the Kirkland and Mayer Collections, in the new exhibition space through June 17, 2018.
Kirkland Museum’s original location in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, at the site of Vance Kirkland’s historic studio and art school, opened in 2003 but outgrew that space due to increased attendance and expanded art holdings. On November 6, 2016, the three-room studio building was detached from the original museum, moved eight blocks to the Golden Triangle and placed on the north side of the new building.
“The prestige Vance Kirkland’s studio and art school carries for the reputation of Colorado art makes the building itself an integral part of the visitor experience. Moving the building to keep that experience intact was central to the museum relocation,” says Grant. Merle Chambers, co-founder of Kirkland Museum, provided the inspiration to move the Kirkland studio building to the new site in the Golden Triangle.
Funding for construction of the new building was provided by Merle Chambers Fund. The foundation’s financial support for a new home for the museum is an investment in the further development of the vibrant Golden Triangle Creative District and Denver’s national important art scene.
Kirkland Museum features three principal collections including displays of over 150 years of Colorado art and almost 150 years of decorative art. The museum is recognized as having one of the most important displays of international decorative art in North America with examples of every major design period from Arts & Crafts through Postmodern. The Colorado and regional art collection shows the span of local art history from 1845 through the 1990s. Painter Vance Kirkland (1904–1981) was among the most important Colorado and regional painters of the 20th century; a retrospective of his work is shown in the new building with the Colorado and decorative art in salon style.
Jim Olson, FAIA, founding principal and owner of Seattle-based Olson Kundig, designed the new museum; Kirsten R. Murray, FAIA, a principal and owner of Olson Kundig, served as the managing principal of the project. Hugh Grant, Founding Director & Curator, stated, “In addition to museums and cultural facilities, Olson Kundig is known for designing extraordinary residences that contain significant art collections. Because Kirkland Museum is displayed salon-style with the feeling of being in a home, Jim’s design sensibility was a good fit.” Jim Olson’s recent projects include the JW Marriott Los Cabos Beach Resort and Spa (Puerto Los Cabos, Baja, Mexico), Washington State University Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (Pullman, Washington), Bellevue Botanical Garden Visitor Center (Bellevue, Washington) and residences in Seattle, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Taipei, London and more. www.olsonkundig.com
Museum hours are Tuesday–Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday noon to 5 p.m. General admission is $10. Due to the fragile nature of the collections and the popular but vulnerable salon style in which they are displayed, Kirkland Museum limits all visitors to those aged 13 and older. Paid parking is available in the lot behind the museum, accessible from the alley between Bannock and Cherokee. Museum patrons receive a discount on parking with validated admission ticket.
For more information, please visit www.kirklandmuseum.org. A digital press kit is available here.
MEDIA CONTACT on behalf of Kirkland Museum:
Katie Converse, Peri Marketing & Public Relations, 720-979-4530 or katie@perimarketing.com
TWEET IT: NEW @KirklandMuseum celebrates grand opening on March 10 in Denver’s @Golden_Triangle Creative District. #KirklandGoesGolden #KirklandGrandOpening
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cc8521c4-68ca-47ca-bfad-13a00f76c4f2