Scottish Angus Cow and Calf

Woot public art that looks like something it is, no interpretation needed
It’s cute and quaint and hidden on the side of the museum, and you have to know it is there unless you park on that side.

A nod to Denver’s cow town roots, this pair of enormous bronze sculptures sit beside the Denver Art Museum. The cow is looking off into the distance with an expression somewhere between slightly perturbed and angry disbelief. The calf is just standing there looking, seemingly happy to be with mama.
I love the location of these behemoths in the grassy area on the south side of the Denver Art Museum. Lots of parking can be found nearby providing easy access for fun photo ops.

I think this is a great representation of Denver. I am thinking that *this* is what public art should be, but then I think… maybe not. Anyway, it’s a way better piece than a phallic sack of glowing red bags, or a broom and dustpan. How do pieces like that speak Denver’s energy and history? This piece actually represents Denver and it’s history. Denver isn’t a port city and if you haven’t taken notice, almost all cities that make the map are port cities (Baltimore, Philly, NYC, LA…) Without the gold rushes and cattle trades Denver wouldn’t be here. We need to remember who made this city and what put it on the map. This piece forces you to do just that. It’s a shame it’s hidden away behind the art museum. I have a feeling not many see it simply because of that. It compliments the western art floor in the DAM so well, why isn’t it out front?!

Grew up on a dairy farm and so I have this love hate relationship with cows.
I am loving this particular pair since they look sweet, don’t crap everywhere, and no smell! It’s a great piece of art with a fun history described in an earlier review!
Go see it and don’t forget to take a pic…

A GIFT TO DENVER, the cow town. Awww, that’s so sweet. It’s almost as sweet as the sculpture itself.
Located just south of the new Leibeskind building at the DAM, along 12^th Avenue you will find a huge bronze cow and her calf. The cow stands 13 foot tall by 24 feet long, and her baby is 10 X 14 feet. Thank goodness the momma is laying down. The cattle are three times the actual size of real bovine.
The artwork was commissioned in 2006, by a Larkspur, Colorado man who owns a real cow and calf (to match the sculpture.) The commissioner also paid $ 1 million to install the masterpiece and maintain it’s brilliance.
The award winning sculptor is Dan Ostermiller, an American artist, living in Colorado, who shows his work all over the nation in art museums and galleries. He’s the son of a taxidermist, who chose a more creative career for his love of animals. He learned a lot watching his father work. Dan belongs to the National Sculpture Society and the Society of Animal Artists, and has held offices in both.
Back to my interpretation of the work… it reminds me of growing up on the farm. I love it. It’s powerful, yet submissive and calm. It’s a nice juxtaposition of organic against Leibeskind’s geometric architecture. It has soft qualities, relaying the docile nature of the calmest creature I know of, and yet is made of cold hard bronze, in enormous proportions. I like that I can drive to bustling downtown Denver and unexpectedly come across something so placid and tranquil.