New Support Brings Total Amount Raised to $25 Million For New Museum by Allied Works Architecture
Denver, CO – November 4, 2009 – The Clyfford Still Museum today announced that it will break ground on its future home next month, designed by Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture, in December 2009. The Museum simultaneously announced that it has raised $8 million of new support towards the design and construction of its new building. These new pledges bring the total amount raised for the new building to $25 million, which represents more than 85 percent of the museum’s total building costs and capital campaign goal.
The ceremonial groundbreaking is set for December 14th at 11:00 am at the future site of the Clyfford Still Museum. Scheduled to open in 2011 in the heart of Denver’s vibrant arts district, the museum will provide an intimate environment for the viewing of the Still collection, encompassing some 2,400 works spanning the artist’s career.
“We are pleased by the support and enthusiasm for the future Clyfford Still Museum,” said Christopher Hunt, President of the Museum’s Board of Directors. “This announcement speaks worlds to the public recognition of the Museum’s significance, both to the Denver community and to the American cultural landscape.”
The two-story Museum will include a series of open and light-filled gallery spaces, designed to accommodate a rotating program of exhibitions showcasing the work of the legendary artist. An education center, including library and archives, will provide visitors with additional resources and archival information about the life and work of Clyfford Still. The Museum will also include a state-of-the-art conservation laboratory and collection storage.
“Today we celebrate being one step closer to the opening of the Clyfford Still Museum and to bringing to life the legacy, vision and artistry of one of our country’s greatest painters,” said Director Dean Sobel. “We are especially grateful to the Denver community who have helped secure the future of this new and important cultural project.”
About The Clyfford Still Museum
The Clyfford Still Museum was founded to promote public and scholarly understanding of the late artist’s work and legacy, through the presentation and preservation of the Clyfford Still Estate, totaling approximately 2,400 artworks bequeathed to the City of Denver in 2004. Considered one of the most important painters of the twentieth century, Still (1904-1980) was among the first generation of Abstract Expressionist artists who developed a new, powerful approach to painting in the years immediately following World War II. Still’s estate—now understood to be 94 percent of the artist’s total output—as well as his extensive archive, have been sealed off from the public since 1980.
The Clyfford Still Museum will be located in Denver, Colorado, in the heart of the Civic Center Cultural Complex, near the Denver Art Museum and its new Daniel Libeskind-designed building, the Denver Public Library designed by Michael Graves, and the Colorado History Museum. For more information about the Clyfford Still Museum, please visit www.clyffordstillmuseum.org.