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This exceptional abstract expressionist painting was created during the artist's Floating Abstractions period using a technique he creating incorporating oil and water on linen. The Kirkland Museum describes this as a "resist technique of mixing oil paint and water together. This gave him painting surfaces unlike any abstract expressionist with textures resembling a moon’s cratered surface as the water bubbles dried. To accomplish this, Kirkland would place a painting flat on his worktable and pour mixtures of oil paint and water onto the canvas. He would guide the liquid in different directions, sometimes blotting the mixtures with paper towels and drawing water off, sensing when to do this within split seconds." Framed dimensions measure 41.5 x 36.5 inches, Expedited and International shipping is available; contact us for a quote. About the Artist: As an artist and educator, Vance Kirkland almost single-handedly brought modern art to Denver. At a time when conservative tastes ruled, he came to Colorado and worked in a manner that emphasized process more than subject matter. Rather than pleasing landscapes, he created paintings that expressed the dynamic forces of the universe, often with results that were strange and otherworldly. Standing on principle, he never wavered from his conviction that the arts were respected disciplines, and he constantly pushed for the inclusion of modern art in Denver's public institutions. Deliberately working away from the major art centers, Kirkland's varied art styles were determined by his own compass yet were nationally recognized. Growing up in Ohio, Kirkland began his art studies at the Cleveland School of Art, where he received a diploma in painting and a bachelor's degree in art education. The former curator of the Denver Art Museum, Diane Vanderlip points to a failed watercolor class as an indicator of both his future stylistic development and his early self-confidence. When the teacher criticized Kirkland for colors that fought with each other, the young man listened to his own muse rather than pass the course. Upon graduation, he was offered a job at Princeton, but when the university discovered just how young he was, they withdrew their offer. He then accepted an offer at the University of Denver to establish their art department in 1929. While most schools shunted art off to the side, Kirkland developed the program as a combination of academics and art. He also got officials to accept nude figure drawing. However, a parting of the ways came when he and the Provost clashed over degree recognition. The subsequent establishment of his Kirkland School of Art became a cultural beacon in this Rocky Mountain capitol. Fom 1927 to 1944, he worked in a style he referred to as "Designed Realism," in which natural forms were highly stylized in rhythmic shapes. Working totally in watercolor, he developed an individualized method of applying dots to a saturated color surface. By the end of the thirties, Kirkland's paintings became larger and more energetic. Hiking in the mountains, the artist was inspired by the unusual shapes of high-altitude plants and trees stunted and bent by the fierce winds. Taking his painting gear, he had to add antifreeze to his paints in order to work in these demanding conditions. Departing from his ordinary perspective, Kirkland created compositions of open spaces and wild linear elements, which he increasingly liberated from any specific representation. In his fantastic imaginings, he had an affinity with Surrealism, although he had no interest in their Freudian pursuits. Kirkland received national attention with inclusion in exhibitions, such as "Abstract and Surrealist American Art" at the Art Institute of Chicago and "Reality and Fantasy" at the Walker Art Center. In 1946, Knoedler and Company in New York invited him to be one of their artists, which brought solo shows and group exhibitions with artists like Max Ernst. Beginning in the 1940s, he also became more active with the Denver Art Museum, serving in various honorary and formal positions. Both in his capacity as board member and curator, he relentlessly pressed for the recognition of contemporary art and artists. At the same time, his prestige grew when the University of Denver invited him back: this time as Director of the School of Art, Professor of Painting, and Chairman of the Department of Arts and Humanities. In 1941, he married Anne Fox Oliphant Olson, a librarian, and their home was a center for Denver's cultural life with evening salons and musical performances. Hs first non-objective painting, "Red Abstraction" (1951) initiated his break with his past art. Looking back, Kirkland said, "There had to be a way of creating something and I became interested in abstraction." Deciding to forego watercolor, he experimented with paint and materials, particularly with inventive ways of mixing them. He had always been intrigued by the quality of resistance, and now he used the combination of oil and water to cause unexpected effects. The surface of his canvases became almost like breathing skins. Committed to his new direction, Kirkland didn't flinch when Knoedler's dropped him for abandoning his commercially successful style. Moving to greater heights, Kirkland began painting large canvases that suggested cosmic phenomena, some of which he called "nebula." Although the fifties saw the birth of space exploration, the artist deliberately avoided any astronomical study, preferring instead to paint the mystery beyond his knowledge. When he saw pre-Hubble photographs that looked startlingly similar, he decided to stop. Towards the end of his career, he returned to his earlier practice of layering the surface with dots. The works that first appeared in 1963 were geometric abstractions that share some of the qualities of contemporary Op Art. These later paintings were painstakingly done. Always a tireless worker, he pursued his art even after hepatitis made painting more difficult and physically excruciating, devising a system that suspended him over his canvases. His studio on Pearl Street in Denver is now the Vance Kirkland Foundation and Museum, a significant center for mid-century modernism in painting and the decorative arts. Awards: State of Colorado Arts and Humanities Award, 1971; Received the first solo exhibition at the Denver Art Museum; Honored posthumously by Historic Denver as part of the Colorado 100. Education: Cleveland Schools of Art (B.E.A.); Western Reserve University with Henry Keller; Frank Wilcox, William Joseph Eastman & Albert Olson; also studied in Europe, Africa and Asia. Commissions: Ceiling in drawing room, commissioned by Mrs. Gerald Hughes, Denver, 1936; History of Costume (five murals), Neusteter's, Denver, 1937; mural room and ranch bar, Albany Hotel, Denver, 1937; WPA mural, Cattle Round-up, US Treasury Department, Eureka, Kansas, 1938; Land Rush, Treasury Department, Sayre, OK, 1940. Exhibited: International Watercolors, Art Institute of Chicago, 1930-49; Contemporary American Painting, University of Illinois, 1952; Artists West of the Mississippi, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 1965; 73rd Western Ann., Denver Art Museum, 1971; Color Exp. Space Retrospective, 1972. Works Held: Denver Art Museum, Colorado; Art Institute of Chicago; Nelson Gallery Art, Kansas City, MO; Columbus Gallery Fine Arts, OH; Norton Gallery Fine Arts, West Palm Beach, FL. ©David Cook Galleries, LLC

Denver's Molly Brown and Vance Kirkland Museums~ St John of the Wilderness

"To become truly immortal, a work of art must escape all human limits: logic and commonsense will only interfere. But once these barriers are broken, it will enter the realms of childhood visions and dreams." -Giorgio DeChirico . Markets crash. Sometimes with the help of the government. This home by architect William Lang was originally built in the 1880's for a couple who got caught up in the 1893 financial crisis. 3 years prior our government had designed a financial program meant to help farmers. It was known as the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. Unfortunately, 3 years later the government was facing The Law of Unintended Consequences. Banker JP Morgan put together a consortium that did not rescue the architect, who met a bad end, or original owners of the home. It did, however, staved off bankruptcy of the United States government. The new owner, JJ Brown is best known for being married to Margaret "The Unsinkable Molly" Brown. Tall with flaming red hair and a killer wardrobe with some dresses reputed to cost as much as her 7,500 square foot home- $30,000. This postcard is sold here "The House of Lions", the home was lavishly decorated as well as featuring the latest accoutrements of the day: electricity, steam heating, indoor plumbing (the only bathroom with hot and cold running water is on the third floor) and telephones. All this brick and stone. A spot of verbena and agastache are the smiling counterpoint cheering up stern architecture. At the Sam Maloof Home and Gardens near where I live, there was a brochure recommending the historic homes of notable artists. One mentioned is the Vance Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Arts. It turned out to be really handy as it is directly behind the Molly Brown House and Museum. Get ready to be wowed! This museum is FUN. In the center courtyard of the late Colorado artist Vance Kirkland's home and studio, found objects, welded and braised metal and rubber were turned into the skeletal sculptures of The Saxophonist, String Instrumentalist and Flute Player with Corn Row Hair by Bob Ragland, the non-starving artist. William Long created these fabulous vases where aquatic life grows and swims through waves expressed in matte glazes. A small corner of "The Illusion of Floating Mysteries in Blue Space" ...Vance Kirkland worked in many styles over the course of his career. One of popular techniques is known as dot. How exactly do you get dots evenly over a large canvas? You suspend yourself over a table with straps. This is just a small sampling of the salon style galleries where useful art- such as Frank Lloyd Wright chairs- are set in vignettes abundant with sculpture, painting and all manner of decorative arts. We leave the Kirkland museum with random shots from my visit. Reminders that art is everywhere. It was time to head to the airport. But not without stopping at a church. St John's In the Wilderness was not the building I was seeking, but I am not going to say it is the wrong church. Just the one I found when I was lost. It had a garden with roses A vegetable plot with the most ingeniously painted compost container. The wonderment of flying buttresses The long hall lined with 2 stories of stained glass windows. An organ in the front. An organ in the rear. A piano. Accompaniment, I am certain, for every angel in heaven. I read recently that people have styles where worship is most natural. Amidst this man-made grandeur with promises of orchestral chorus, such a setting is where my heart is at home. I suppose there was time to fit in one more attraction. But when one has sat in the presence of the Almighty God- that is when it is time to stop. Top image courtesy of Wikipedia

The curators and directors of six museums (Art Institute of Chicago, Dallas Museum of Art, Denver Art Museum, Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art, National Museum of American Art and University of Arizona Museum of Art) discuss the art of Vance Kirkland and his stature in the art world. 57 minutes. 1994. "Kirkland obviously, from the beginning of his career in the late 1920s, very much wanted to paint like nobody else ever had—and he actually managed to do it." —Charles Stuckey, Curator of 20th Century Painting and Sculpture, The Art Institute of Chicago

Explore Thomas Hawk's 301732 photos on Flickr!

Red Vibrations in Cool Space by Vance Kirkland

With the precise spacing and varied size of its dots, this painting from Kirkland's Einstein Series has an almost mathematical feel.

If I had to pick just one Denver museum to revisit, it would be the fabulous Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art.

A good studio for an artist is a very important place. Creative studios might sometimes look like a pile of rubbish or a mixed-up room, but this is where famous artists paintings are born!

With the precise spacing and varied size of its dots, this painting from Kirkland's Einstein Series has an almost mathematical feel.

Kirkland Museum: A Treasure Chest of Late 19th and 20th Century Art

After a recent happy hour conversation in which my friend suggested that I check out some “cool furniture”…

Denver's Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art

Built as a monument to Colorado art, the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art presents work by the late Denver painter Vance Kirkland and other local artists.

With the precise spacing and varied size of its dots, this painting from Kirkland's Einstein Series has an almost mathematical feel.

As an artist and educator, Vance Kirkland almost single-handedly brought modern art to Denver. At a time when conservative tastes ruled, he came to Colorado and worked in a manner that emphasized process more than subject matter. Rather than pleasing landscapes, he created paintings that expressed the dynamic forces of the universe, often with results that were strange and otherworldly. Standing on principle, he never wavered from his conviction that the arts were respected disciplines, and he constantly pushed for the inclusion of modern art in Denver’s public institutions. Deliberately working away from the major art centers, Kirkland’s varied art styles were determined by his own compass yet were nationally recognized. Growing up in Ohio, Kirkland began his art studies at the Cleveland School of Art, where he received a diploma in painting and a bachelor’s degree in art education. The former curator of the Denver Art Museum, Diane Vanderlip points to a failed watercolor class as an indicator of both his future stylistic development and his early self-confidence. When the teacher criticized Kirkland for colors that fought with each other, the young man listened to his own muse rather than pass the course. Upon graduation, he was offered a job at Princeton, but when the university discovered just how young he was, they withdrew their offer. He then accepted an offer at the University of Denver to establish their art department in 1929. While most schools shunted art off to the side, Kirkland developed the program as a combination of academics and art. He also got officials to accept nude figure drawing. However, a parting of the ways came when he and the Provost clashed over degree recognition. The subsequent establishment of his Kirkland School of Art became a cultural beacon in this Rocky Mountain capitol. From 1927 to 1944, he worked in a style he referred to as “Designed Realism,” in which natural forms were highly stylized in rhythmic shapes. Working totally in watercolor, he developed an individualized method of applying dots to a saturated color surface. By the end of the thirties, Kirkland’s paintings became larger and more energetic. Hiking in the mountains, the artist was inspired by the unusual shapes of high-altitude plants and trees stunted and bent by the fierce winds. Taking his painting gear, he had to add antifreeze to his paints in order to work in these demanding conditions. Departing from his ordinary perspective, Kirkland created compositions of open spaces and wild linear elements, which he increasingly liberated from any specific representation. In his fantastic imaginings, he had an affinity with Surrealism, although he had no interest in their Freudian pursuits. Kirkland received national attention with inclusion in exhibitions, such as “Abstract and Surrealist American Art” at the Art Institute of Chicago and “Reality and Fantasy” at the Walker Art Center. In 1946, Knoedler and Company in New York invited him to be one of their artists, which brought solo shows and group exhibitions with artists like Max Ernst. Beginning in the 1940s, he also became more active with the Denver Art Museum, serving in various honorary and formal positions. Both in his capacity as board member and curator, he relentlessly pressed for the recognition of contemporary art and artists. At the same time, his prestige grew when the University of Denver invited him back: this time as Director of the School of Art, Professor of Painting, and Chairman of the Department of Arts and Humanities. In 1941, he married Anne Fox Oliphant Olson, a librarian, and their home was a center for Denver’s cultural life with evening salons and musical performances. His first non-objective painting, Red Abstraction (1951) initiated his break with his past art. Looking back, Kirkland said, “There had to be a way of creating something and I became interested in abstraction.’ Deciding to forego watercolor, he experimented with paint and materials, particularly with inventive ways of mixing them. He had always been intrigued by the quality of resistance, and now he used the combination of oil and water to cause unexpected effects. The surface of his canvases became almost like breathing skins. Committed to his new direction, Kirkland didn’t flinch when Knoedler’s dropped him for abandoning his commercially successful style. Moving to greater heights, Kirkland began painting large canvases that suggested cosmic phenomena, some of which he called “nebula.” Although the fifties saw the birth of space exploration, the artist deliberately avoided any astronomical study, preferring instead to paint the mystery beyond his knowledge. When he saw pre-Hubble photographs that looked startlingly similar, he decided to stop. Towards the end of his career, he returned to his earlier practice of layering the surface with dots. The works that first appeared in 1963 were geometric abstractions that share some of the qualities of contemporary Op Art. These later paintings were painstakingly done. Always a tireless worker, he pursued his art even after hepatitis made painting more difficult and physically excruciating, devising a system that suspended him over his canvases. His studio on Pearl Street in Denver is now the Vance Kirkland Foundation and Museum, a significant center for mid-century modernism in painting and the decorative arts. Awards: State of Colorado Arts and Humanities Award, 1971; Received the first solo exhibition at the Denver Art Museum; Honored posthumously by Historic Denver as part of the Colorado 100. Education: Cleveland Schools of Art (B.E.A.); Western Reserve University with Henry Keller; Frank Wilcox, William Joseph Eastman & Albert Olson; also studied in Europe, Africa and Asia. Commissions: Ceiling in drawing room, commissioned by Mrs. Gerald Hughes, Denver, 1936; History of Costume (five murals), Neusteter’s, Denver, 1937; mural room and ranch bar, Albany Hotel, Denver, 1937; WPA mural, Cattle Round-up, US Treasury Department, Eureka, Kansas, 1938; Land Rush, Treasury Department, Sayre, OK, 1940. Exhibited: International Watercolors, Art Institute of Chicago, 1930-49; Contemporary American Painting, University of Illinois, 1952; Artists West of the Mississippi, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 1965; 73rd Western Ann., Denver Art Museum, 1971; Color Exp. Space Retrospective, 1972. Works Held: Denver Art Museum, Colorado; Art Institute of Chicago; Nelson Gallery Art, Kansas City, MO; Columbus Gallery Fine Arts, OH; Norton Gallery Fine Arts, West Palm Beach, FL. ©David Cook Galleries, LLC

With the precise spacing and varied size of its dots, this painting from Kirkland's Einstein Series has an almost mathematical feel.

Connecting with my thoughts on life--and my extended global community through photos, art, objects, events, places, people and stories.

As an artist and educator, Vance Kirkland almost single-handedly brought modern art to Denver. At a time when conservative tastes ruled, he came to Colorado and worked in a manner that emphasized process more than subject matter. Rather than pleasing landscapes, he created paintings that expressed the dynamic forces of the universe, often with results that were strange and otherworldly. Standing on principle, he never wavered from his conviction that the arts were respected disciplines, and he constantly pushed for the inclusion of modern art in Denver’s public institutions. Deliberately working away from the major art centers, Kirkland’s varied art styles were determined by his own compass yet were nationally recognized. Growing up in Ohio, Kirkland began his art studies at the Cleveland School of Art, where he received a diploma in painting and a bachelor’s degree in art education. The former curator of the Denver Art Museum, Diane Vanderlip points to a failed watercolor class as an indicator of both his future stylistic development and his early self-confidence. When the teacher criticized Kirkland for colors that fought with each other, the young man listened to his own muse rather than pass the course. Upon graduation, he was offered a job at Princeton, but when the university discovered just how young he was, they withdrew their offer. He then accepted an offer at the University of Denver to establish their art department in 1929. While most schools shunted art off to the side, Kirkland developed the program as a combination of academics and art. He also got officials to accept nude figure drawing. However, a parting of the ways came when he and the Provost clashed over degree recognition. The subsequent establishment of his Kirkland School of Art became a cultural beacon in this Rocky Mountain capitol. From 1927 to 1944, he worked in a style he referred to as “Designed Realism,” in which natural forms were highly stylized in rhythmic shapes. Working totally in watercolor, he developed an individualized method of applying dots to a saturated color surface. By the end of the thirties, Kirkland’s paintings became larger and more energetic. Hiking in the mountains, the artist was inspired by the unusual shapes of high-altitude plants and trees stunted and bent by the fierce winds. Taking his painting gear, he had to add antifreeze to his paints in order to work in these demanding conditions. Departing from his ordinary perspective, Kirkland created compositions of open spaces and wild linear elements, which he increasingly liberated from any specific representation. In his fantastic imaginings, he had an affinity with Surrealism, although he had no interest in their Freudian pursuits. Kirkland received national attention with inclusion in exhibitions, such as “Abstract and Surrealist American Art” at the Art Institute of Chicago and “Reality and Fantasy” at the Walker Art Center. In 1946, Knoedler and Company in New York invited him to be one of their artists, which brought solo shows and group exhibitions with artists like Max Ernst. Beginning in the 1940s, he also became more active with the Denver Art Museum, serving in various honorary and formal positions. Both in his capacity as board member and curator, he relentlessly pressed for the recognition of contemporary art and artists. At the same time, his prestige grew when the University of Denver invited him back: this time as Director of the School of Art, Professor of Painting, and Chairman of the Department of Arts and Humanities. In 1941, he married Anne Fox Oliphant Olson, a librarian, and their home was a center for Denver’s cultural life with evening salons and musical performances. His first non-objective painting, Red Abstraction (1951) initiated his break with his past art. Looking back, Kirkland said, “There had to be a way of creating something and I became interested in abstraction.’ Deciding to forego watercolor, he experimented with paint and materials, particularly with inventive ways of mixing them. He had always been intrigued by the quality of resistance, and now he used the combination of oil and water to cause unexpected effects. The surface of his canvases became almost like breathing skins. Committed to his new direction, Kirkland didn’t flinch when Knoedler’s dropped him for abandoning his commercially successful style. Moving to greater heights, Kirkland began painting large canvases that suggested cosmic phenomena, some of which he called “nebula.” Although the fifties saw the birth of space exploration, the artist deliberately avoided any astronomical study, preferring instead to paint the mystery beyond his knowledge. When he saw pre-Hubble photographs that looked startlingly similar, he decided to stop. Towards the end of his career, he returned to his earlier practice of layering the surface with dots. The works that first appeared in 1963 were geometric abstractions that share some of the qualities of contemporary Op Art. These later paintings were painstakingly done. Always a tireless worker, he pursued his art even after hepatitis made painting more difficult and physically excruciating, devising a system that suspended him over his canvases. His studio on Pearl Street in Denver is now the Vance Kirkland Foundation and Museum, a significant center for mid-century modernism in painting and the decorative arts. Awards: State of Colorado Arts and Humanities Award, 1971; Received the first solo exhibition at the Denver Art Museum; Honored posthumously by Historic Denver as part of the Colorado 100. Education: Cleveland Schools of Art (B.E.A.); Western Reserve University with Henry Keller; Frank Wilcox, William Joseph Eastman & Albert Olson; also studied in Europe, Africa and Asia. Commissions: Ceiling in drawing room, commissioned by Mrs. Gerald Hughes, Denver, 1936; History of Costume (five murals), Neusteter’s, Denver, 1937; mural room and ranch bar, Albany Hotel, Denver, 1937; WPA mural, Cattle Round-up, US Treasury Department, Eureka, Kansas, 1938; Land Rush, Treasury Department, Sayre, OK, 1940. Exhibited: International Watercolors, Art Institute of Chicago, 1930-49; Contemporary American Painting, University of Illinois, 1952; Artists West of the Mississippi, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 1965; 73rd Western Ann., Denver Art Museum, 1971; Color Exp. Space Retrospective, 1972. Works Held: Denver Art Museum, Colorado; Art Institute of Chicago; Nelson Gallery Art, Kansas City, MO; Columbus Gallery Fine Arts, OH; Norton Gallery Fine Arts, West Palm Beach, FL. ©David Cook Galleries, LLC

This is a collection of 125 artists in their studios from all over the world -- North America to Britain to Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Brought to you by the Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios program, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.