Clyfford Still Museum drive nets $25 million

Denver fundraising project 'seeing strong support'

Mary Voelz Chandler

Thursday, January 17, 2008

©

Clyfford Still

©

Painting by Clyfford Still 1949.

The Clyfford Still Museum has raised gifts and pledges of about $25 million toward the project.

Officials will announce today that the museum has more than $17 million pledged toward its $33 million capital campaign, contributions in hand of $5 million for its endowment, and $2.7 million to fund current museum operations and support conservation of the collection.

"This project has momentum," board President Chris Hunt said. "We're seeing strong support. There's an enhancement of the overall cultural landscape in Denver, and we're thrilled to be part of it."

Work on the museum began in August 2004, when the city of Denver acquired the estate of the artist, who died in 1980 with much of his work unseen by the public.

Officials project a museum opening in 2010.

"This marks the end of the quiet campaign," said Dean Sobel, executive director. "We're beginning to broaden the campaign into a more public phase."

Hunt said fundraising began about a year and a half ago and will now turn to potential donors in other cities.

Donors to the capital campaign include $4 million from the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, $3.25 million from the Anschutz Foundation and $500,000 from the Boettcher Foundation. The endowment campaign began with a gift of $500,000 from Merle C. Chambers and Hugh A. Grant through the Chambers Family Fund. Among other endowment gifts: a $1 million bequest from Kent and Vicki Logan.

The museum has received $200,000 in conservation grants from the Henry Luce Foundation and the Save America's Treasures program of the National Endowment for the Arts and National Park Service. The museum will include a conservation lab and storage for holdings that include about 94 percent of the work Still made.

The $33 million capital campaign goal includes the new building, the site on Bannock Street at West 13th Avenue and fees.

Officials declined to break out the construction cost of the new building, for which a design by architect Brad Cloepfil will be unveiled in late winter.

Chandlerm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2677