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Rendering of the north view of the Denver Art Museum’s new Frederic C. Hamilton Building, designed by Daniel Libeskind
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From the moment you step in front of The Denver Art Museum you find out very soon that the Museum isn't just a home to incredible art, the building itself is an actual piece of art. The Museum's new wing, The Frederic C. Hamilton Building, opened in October 2006 and the building is one of its most spectacular pieces.
Designed by Daniel Libeskind who worked closely with the museum staff to create a bold and innovative connection between not only the building and the art it houses but also the surrounding Rocky Mountains and the crystals that form deep in the mountains. It truly reminds a person that art is all around you, and this building is Denver's newest landmark.
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The four-story El Pomar Grand Atrium in the Denver Art Museum’s Frederic C. Hamilton Building. Featuring the digital art work of Tatsuo Miyajima © by Jeff Goldberg/Esto
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As you enter the structural marvel you are left in awe at the beauty of the sharp angles and white clean walls. You see the winding staircase up the atrium and you are introduced to yet another example of the building's strong connection with art and Denver's community: a piece by Tatsuo Miyajima, 80 digital led lights that surround the magnificent stairway.
Using the number 1-9 Miyajima commissioned 80 people living in Denver from different backgrounds and ages to choose a number that was special to them and then these numbers will take turns rotating and flashing throughout the 80 led lights. Creating yet another bold connection between the buildings, the art it hold and the community it stands in. The new Hamilton building houses two floors of temporary exhibits and also several permanent exhibits such as its African Art, Modern and Contemporary Art, Oceanic Art and Western American Art.
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Long Jakes, The Rocky Mountain Man, 1844, by Charles Deas. Oil on canvas. Denver Art Museum; purchased in memory of Bob Magness with funds from Collector’s Choice 1999
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After looking through the Western American Art you find a bridge that will lead you to the North Building and its extensive and impressive Native American Art exhibit, which even includes totem poles. Denver is a major city from the Native American culture housing nearly 7,000 natives; the city is colored in their culture and is an appropriate place to house such an amazing collection of Native American art.
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Shield (about 1880), by unknown Southern Cheyenne artist. Painted rawhide, stroud cloth, feathers, brass bells. Denver Art Museum; Native Arts acquisition funds
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The North building itself looks like a castle and you are reminded so when you walk through the European and American Art collection it houses. The beautiful paintings are fit to sit only on a King's wall. The European collection is rich in Renaissance and 19th Century paintings.
And coming this October 2007 through January 2008 the Denver Art Museum will house Artisans & Kings: Selected Treasures from the Louvre. The North Building also houses a collection of pre-Colombian art that the museum is very proud of showcasing nearly all major cultures in Mesoamerica, Central America and South America. I can recall visiting the castle-like museum as a little girl and feeling almost as if I was in some beautiful fairytale.
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The Denver Art Museum’s North Building, designed by Gio Ponti and James Sudler Associates
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The Denver Art Museum is big on family time and offers many fun family activities that are sure to keep the children entertained as they learn about art and are given a chance to see the world through so many different times, art forms and of course cultures. At the very least a day at the Denver Art Museum will have every member of one's family walking away in touch with their inner artist.
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Rendering of the east view of the Denver Art Museum's new Frederic C. Hamilton Building, designed by Daniel Libeskind
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The Denver Art Museums website is www.denverartmuseum.org or you can call 1.866.4090.ART
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