Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art

Centered around the works and collection of Denver’s Vance Kirkland, much of the art-​deco options still in remarkable condition, the original Kirkland Museum was an absolute treat to visit during a recent trip, the upcoming move apparently intended to make even more of the collection visible and a great reason in and of itself to return to Denver. Unique, diverse and crowded in a manner that makes each room a veritable feast to the senses, this is the ‘can’t miss’ museum for Denver.

I loved the Kirkland. If you have the opportunity, do a guided tour. Very knowledgeable guides.

I loved this museum! It’s intimate, has a wonderful collection and explanations. There is plenty of parking also they appear to be moving to a new location in 2016. Now, you can enter the original work space of Kirkland. I’d never heard of him before and I’m so glad I did. So talented and Inspirational in many ways. Also, here you can actually sit in a Frank Lloyd Wright designed old theater chair.

Such a cool and unique place to visit in Denver. There are a lot of awesome Vance Kirkland paintings and some really cool furniture to check out. Definitely worth a visit!

This was a really cool museum. I went here based on the readings of trip advisor and Unilocal.I was not disappointed. There were many pieces here that were very different than other museums. I particularly enjoyed the Lichtenstein plates and the Andy Warhol dresses in Campbell Soup can décor. These items are not to be missed.
The museum is in a very small building in a hip neighborhood of Denver. You can be in and out within two hours. They do have AAA rates for a discount.
There are many curious pieces, particularly art deco pieces, which I enjoyed.
While it certainly is not the premier museum in Denver, it is worth a look once you are done with the large museums.

I LOVED this museum. I can’t believe I’ve lived here for 8 years and just now found this place.
Here’s the rundown: I’m not an art expert, but I’m particular to the styles in this collection. Lots of art deco/​art nouveau design pieces. Furniture, pottery, etc… The fine art focuses on abstract and surreal art for the most part.
The layout of the place is interesting. As you move through the rooms of the house, there are chairs and end tables mixed in with paintings. There are a lot of little nooks and crannies hiding great pieces. Even the elevator has three beautiful paintings inside. So does the stairwell.
The museum also contains Vance Kirkland’s workspace, including the suspension system the small man used to hover above his large paintings while working.
I love it and can’t wait to go back with the hubby.

Just GO!
Unique and captivating.

I love small, intimate museums that focus on one person’s collection/​interests. This is the place for you if you share in that opinion.
The Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art is a tucked away gem in Downtown Denver. It is a very cool looking building that holds loads and loads of personally collected art that belonged to Vance Kirkland. His friend, Hugh Grant (not the actor) was trusted with all of Kirkland’s art when he passed. Grant decided to put it in one spot and open it as a museum for people to come and see. What a great idea. This collection is so cool if you enjoy furniture and other fine collectibles. They also feature art from talented people around the Denver area as well as the region. We even saw a Kentucky artist while we were there.
It seems like there is even more art that isn’t on display… in the basement you can see more that is behind lock and gate. We found out from the person on staff at the time of our visit that they are expanding soon. So hopefully they will be able to put even more of Kirkland’s personal collection out.
Go check this place out. You will be glad you did.

I recently took a tour with Maya at the Kirkland Museum and loved every minute! The staff is incredibly knowledgeable, friendly + lovely to interact with. This is an awesome spot, nestled in the heart of Cap Hill, to see a ton of local artwork and even a few pieces from Lichtenstein and Dali. I loved how intimate this museum felt and loved all the vignettes that highlighted the works of local Denver artist Vance Kirkland. I can’t wait to visit again once they’ve moved into their larger space at the Denver Art Museum complex!

Fascinating collection of modern furniture, ceramics, and glass. Kirkland’s paintings? Meh.

I love a small museum. The more eclectic and unique, the better! The Kirkland is fabulous, and not small at all– it is bursting with amazing stuff!
First and foremost, this museum is the true home and birthplace of the Denver Art scene, led by Vance Kirkland in the mid-​20^th century. I was unfamiliar with Kirkland’s art and his role in starting the Denver art Museum as well as with Denver University, but I left as an inspired fan of all he did.
As a painter, Kirkland had 5 periods of styles– all displayed: Realism, Surrealism, Hard Edge Abstraction, Abstract Expressionism and the Dot Paintings. I am a fan of surrealism and there were some doozies! The big dot paintings are also quite powerful!
Kirkland Museum has great decorative art from all over the world including Arts & Crafts, Aesthetic, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Modern, Pop Art and Postmodern. There are furnishings by Frank Lloyd Wright, and tableware from gas stations in the 1960’s.
The Kirkland Museum is laid out «salon style», with many vignettes that make you feel like you have broken into someone’s home and are rooting around. There are even hats by the original front door! This was the original studio and school, and you can even still see the harness Kirkland would hang in so he could paint.
Good to note, the collection is so vast, the Kirkland will be moving out of its original location in 2015 – 16 and will likely be closed a year– Get into this museum and the original studio before it moves!

This is a must see for anyone who is into design. This place has a very elaborate collection of furniture and decorative art. You could spend a few hours here exploring all the details of everything.

Curious cute little museum. Would probably never have come but since it was free for Doors Open Denver then of course I jumped at the chance to check it out!
Loved the decorative items from interesting looking sofas to the chinaware. Favorites for me were the sculpture garden and Kirkland’s dot painting. Wish i could take one of those paintings to decorate my place!

This is a good place to browse a couple of hours. My daughter & I had it on the
radar for some time & finally made it. The sheer volume (by era & style) of interior design, furniture, household design, ceramics & glassware made it a worthwhile learning experience. I especially recommend it before closing out an elderly relative’s estate or picking out housewarming & wedding gifts.
It is visual verification that aesthetic design & taste comes in a lot more variety than current manufacturers allow for. The place is packed full of stuff, too much so, but it’s strength is the scope of the collection. A LOT of major glass and ceramic producers and artists are represented and a LOT of use of various materials and techniques. A lot of US manufacturers of the past are represented as well as individual ceramicists, artists, and designers.
Most of the schools and names from the 1880s and forward are represented at least briefly, including some unusual ones like the Scottish school from before the war. It’s almost a shame the place is so packed – but for those of us who like this stuff, it worked anyway. I could see the house itself being a separated museum for Kirkland’s collecting style and having extra display rooms for all the glass & ceramics to be eye level and well lighted and more curatorial detail, as well as better painting display.
Also recommended if you practice any of the creative arts yourself. I even found myself checking out the speakers to the sound system.
I would like to see more curator cards on how the items were made.
I recommend coffee at Pablo’s afterward, not before. That way you have time to decompress.

What a sweet little museum. If you love decorative arts, you should visit. They have a great selection of Art Deco pots from the turn of the century right up to the 60’s. kirtland’s work is interesting to view as well as his studio.

I loved this museum. It’s fairly small, so you can definitely work it in with other activities during your day. And, it’s inexpensive too at only $ 7 for admission. Even with the small size, there is still so much to look at. First and foremost are Vance Kirkland’s paintings: vibrant colors, interesting patterns, and meticulous dots. I’m going to have to find out more about his technique using both oil and water as the results were very intriguing. There are also artworks from other notable Colorado artists. One of my favorite pieces was a round piece on manipulated canvas by Dave Yust (I posted a picture — it’s the purple and green circle). Along with the paintings, there are also an amazing number of more decorative art pieces, including a dining set by Frank Lloyd Wright, a chair by Mackintosh (though one of his more plain works), and lots of funky art deco pieces. I fell in love with the orange dot sofa. I also fell in love with one of the many art deco beverage sets. I’m sure I didn’t fully take in all of the offerings on display, because there was just so much stuff everywhere. But, I’m also sure I’ll be back. In fact, I might have to make visits a fairly regular thing. You see, they also have an impressive number of works in storage and apparently they rotate things regularly so you can go again and again and it will always be different.

You can spend hours here. As expected, the museum’s namesake, Vance Kirkland, has a lot of works on display (loved the color and movement of his dot paintings). While his studio is in tact and set up to show the clever way he painted his larger canvases, the majority of the works are non-​Kirkland decorative arts. Furniture, paintings, killer coffee urns and ashtrays, pottery, lamps, old telephones and radios fill every possible inch of space and while overwhelming for some, I found it fascinating! Items span the late 19^th century to some art from the 2000s, but it seems like a large portion of the works are from the 20s to 40s. I happen to love those decades, and could imagine living at that time thanks to the displays. Admission is $ 7, or they offer membership for $ 35, which is probably the better option, because with over 3500 works on display you will have to return multiple times to even attempt to see the collection.
By the way, kids under 13 are not allowed, so get a sitter.

Passed by this place and had seen their sign way more than a dozen times, always thinking, «Look, this place is sitting on a busy Capitol Hill street corner, how neat a museum could it be?»
Just goes to show how stupid one (= me) can be.
The museum is incredible. Turns out it was the original home of the art organization and studios that developed into the Denver Art Museum. The original building (which has been expanded) is a beautiful brick structure that is part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Kirkland, an internationally recognized artist, used the place as an art school (later merged into DU to become its college of art, with Kirkland as its head professor), and as a studio.
Since his death, the Kirkland Foundation has expanded, and put together an amazing collection, including not only Kirkland’s work, but the work of some of the most famous fine artists, designers and architects of the Arts and Crafts through the Contemporary Periods.
This place is quite extraordinary, and you definitely should get your culture on with a visit to it (followed by brunch at the Jelly Café:-).

This small but ample museum is a tribute to modern design and Vance Kirkland. I felt like I was walking into someone’s home. My husband and I were kindly greeted at the door and roamed the rather intimate space without encountering many other visitors. While I hope this spot is supported by the community, it was nice not to feel crowded or rushed. Check out the website for a listing of their exhibitions, as they are changed out regularly. Some of the main staples are Eames, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mackintosh, and Aalto. And of course, the amazing work of Vance Kirkland. Be sure to check out his studio to see how he hung from the ceiling to paint.
It should be mentioned that they do not allow children. I’m not sure at what age people are allowed, but I can see that it would not be an appropriate place for some less than well-​behaved little ones, as many of the displays are fragile and not protected. I did not get the feeling Betsy M. did about them being elitist about it, but agree with her that it could be a great local introduction to modern design for a respectful child.

Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art is magnificent for its immense, well-​considered number of collections. I enjoyed the Modernism show last week, which will be up until January. The main display room featured portraits of each designer/​artist in front of his/​her furniture: Florence Knoll, Herbert Bayer, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and others were represented in brilliant monochromatic photo-​panels done in Ben Day dots. The current show benefits from very bright curation work by the McCoys of Cranbrook Institute.
The Vance Kirkland studio is a marvel, and always on view in the back of the museum. Words cannot describe his brilliant paintings, suffice it to say that he has many imitators. You ought to see this space for yourself – speaking of which, Vance Kirkland of Colorado was a visionary, painting views of outer space from his vivid imagination, long before the Hubble telescope revealed that he was spot-​on.
Hugh Grant and his wife Merle Chambers, the museum’s benefactress, have created for the art-​and-​design-​loving public a masterful array of beautiful things. Hugh Grant is the dynamic eminence who collected everything in the museum, which began as a tribute to his friend, Vance Kirkland. The Kirkland features over 170 Colorado artists, as well as Arts & Crafts furniture, Art Nouveau pieces, Herbert Bayer paintings, various examples of porcelain, pottery and textiles. Notable is the vast vitrine full of Van Briggle objects made in their old and new Colorado studios.
The Kirkland Museum is unique in its focus on Colorado artists – the only museum in the state to do so.
Not only is the Kirkland Museum brilliant inside its doors, but the building itself is a work of art. I won’t spoil the aesthetic surprise in store for visitors by further describing this wonderful place, named after and inspired by one of Colorado’s great painters, Vance Kirkland.
NOTE: Because of the museum’s layout and fragile exhibits, children are not allowed.