Hamilton Bequest Puts Denver Art Museum On The Map
DENVER (CBS4) - The impact of a $100 million bequest to the Denver Art Museum will be huge, CBS4 Critic at Large Greg Moody said.
"It is the largest bequest in Denver Art Museum history, and it propels the museum into the top ranks of impressionism worldwide," said Moody.
"The addition of 22 impressionist words from Frederic Hamilton's collection puts Denver on the map. It doubles our holdings of impressionist paintings and just makes us a one of the major players in this field across America," said Denver Art Museum Curator Timothy Standring.
The 22 paintings were bequeathed to the Denver Art Museum by Hamilton, who has his name upon the building that houses them.
"Art by some of the greatest impressionists of all time, from Van Gogh to Cezanne to Monet," said Moody.
It's a gift that the museum could not have done on its own.
"Not in my lifetime. It's just the way the endowment and the way the finances are established. It didn't give us the ability to buy this art at auction or any of the other 22 works from the Hamilton collection," said Standring.
Now that the bequest has been announced the museum has heard congratulations from around the world. Many other museums are already hoping to borrow them for future special exhibits.
The Hamilton collection is currently on display as part of the "Nature As Muse" section of the Passport To Paris exhibit at the Denver Art Museum.
That exhibit runs through Feb. 9.
