Clyfford Still Museum
ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The Mission of the Clyfford Still Museum is to advance the understanding and appreciation of Clyfford Still's art and legacy through the presentation, research, interpretation, preservation, and stewardship of its unique collections.
Considered one of the most important painters of the 20th century, Clyfford Still (1904-1980) was among the first generation of Abstract Expressionist artists who developed a new and powerful approach to painting in the years immediately following World War II. After the artist's death in 1980, the Clyfford Still Estate was sealed off from public and scholarly view. Still's will stipulated that his estate be given in its entirety to an American city willing to establish a permanent museum dedicated solely to his work, ensuring its survival for exhibition and study. In August 2004, the City of Denver, under the leadership of then Mayor John W. Hickenlooper, was selected by Still's wife, Patricia Still, to receive the substantial Still collection. In 2005, Patricia Still also bequeathed to the city her own estate, which included select paintings by her husband as well as his complete archives. The Still Museum collection, which represents nearly 94 percent of the artist's lifetime output, includes approximately 2,400 works created between 1920 and 1980.
The Clyfford Still Museum is the newest addition to Denver's burgeoning Cultural Arts District and is located adjacent to the Denver Art Museum in the city's Civic Center Cultural Complex. The two-story, 28,500-square-foot building was designed by Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture specifically to display Still's work. The museum broke ground in December 2009 and was completed in November of 2011. The museum allows visitors the unique experience to understand the legacy of Clyfford Still, an artist whose life has been shrouded in mystery and the bulk of whose work has been hidden from public view for over 30 years.
Where brilliance meets rebellion. And where a life's worth of work meets its final resting place.
Clyfford Still is considered one of the most important and significant artists of the 20th century. He originated the Abstract Expressionism movement and influenced the work of contemporaries such as Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. Few artists of this magnitude have left behind such a comprehensive and mysterious collection of work. And never before has the world seen such a collection of work displayed intact, and under one roof. The Clyfford Still Museum provides visitors with an unprecedented opportunity to view and appreciate Still's extraordinary art and life. The size and significance of the collection, coupled with the extraordinary building design, makes this Museum unlike any other.
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