Museum plans show of Clyfford Still's art

Mary Voelz Chandler, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 21, 2007 at midnight

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The Clyfford Still Museum isn’t projected to open until 2010, but officials are ready to give viewers a sneak peak this summer.

The museum today announced it will show 13 works by the artist during the special exhibition "Clyfford Still Unveiled: Selections From theEstate," running from July 14 through Sept. 30 in the Denver Art Museum’s Frederic C. Hamilton Building.

"This exhibition will give the public a first glimpse of the incredible paintings and drawings in the Still estate, which the artist has so generously bequeathed to the city of Denver and the Clyfford Still Museum," Still museum director Dean Sobel said in a statement. ""As the museum moves forward with architectural designs for its new home, we know that this exhibition will begin to illustrate the significance of this exceptional gift to our community."

Museum officials say this exhibition will be the only such preview before a projected 2010 opening. The works come from Still’s estate, most of which have not been shown publicly since since before the artist’s death in 1980.

Among works to go on view are:

• Some of Stills little-known early figurative works, depicting his interpretation of "American Scene" painting and demonstrating themes evident in his later works.

• A 1940 self-portrait of the artist.

• Works on paper dating from 1935-1952, and never before shown.

• Work from the late 1940s through mid- 1950s, that show the evolution of Still’s mature, purely abstract style.

The city of Denver acquired the artist's estate in 2004, and his archives and more work later — in all, about 2,400 pieces by the early master of Abstract Expressionism who withdrew from the art world. Sobel will present a talk on "Who Is Clyfford Still and Why Does He Matter?" at 6 p.m. July 11 in the Denver Art Musem’s new Sharp Auditorium.

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