A New Exhibit At The DAM! Really!

I can't even remember the last time I visited the Denver Art Museum (The DAM). Although I am a member, there are only so many times you can see the same pieces of art over and over again. The museum's North Building has been closed for remodeling for over three years now, leaving only the Hamilton Building (seen in the photograph on the left) for exhibits, and they have seldom changed in that time. The top two floors have featured "The Light Show" for what seems like a decade, and Treasures of British Art: The Berger Collection just closed after a very long run indeed. There have been major exhibits during this time, such as Claude Monet: The Truth of Nature, which I enjoyed very much, but these are special ticketed events, and when you have to pay a premium to see these shows, you tend to pick and choose. 

Happily, yesterday marked the debut of The 19th Century In European and American Art, which replaces that British art exhibit. The DAM is best known for it's collections of art by indigenous peoples, and until recently, their European collection was fairly limited. However, back in 2013, Frederick C. Hamilton, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, loaned his collection of impressionist paintings to the museum for a special exhibit. The following February, when the exhibit was about to close, the museum asked if they could keep the paintings. Hamilton said yes, as long as the museum provided him with copies as replacements (which probably wound up reducing Hamilton's householder's insurance cost considerably). This new exhibit contains all of these paintings, plus the 19th Century European and American works originally in the museum's collection.

One of these paintings is Claude Monet's Waterloo Bridge, next to which I am posing, looking as if I am about to snatch the piece away. This pandemic has made all of us look like holdup men (or women). Not only do I admire this painting, but if I could find a Monet like this in a thrift store, I would be set for life. I can dream, can't I ? Besides, the odds of something like that happening are much better than winning the Powerball lottery. That's not saying much, of course, but I do find myself wandering through thrift and antique stores much more often than I used to. Hope springs eternal, after all.