Slim Pickins' At The DAM

I went to the Denver Art Museum (The DAM) yesterday afternoon, and was surprised to find that there were only two exhibits on display. All the other galleries in the Hamilton Building were waiting for new art installations, and the opening of the remodeled Ponti Building is on hold until it is safe to hold ritzy galas for major donors and supporters. In the meantime, I checked out "Paris to Hollywood: The Fashion and Influence of Veronique and Gregory Peck."

As far as I am concerned, this is one weird exhibit. At first I thought Veronique Peck was a fashion designer, and the show was showcasing her creations. But in fact, she was a "fashion influencer," and 100 of her personal ensembles, created by 17 different designers, are on display. Interspersed along the walls are photographs of the couple at various functions, publicity photos of Gregory Peck, and videos showing scenes from his most famous movies, such as Roman Holiday, as seen in the photograph on the right. And I do have to ask: Is this really art, or just a way to get paying customers through the doors?

The other gallery features "The 19th Century in European and American Art", an ongoing exhibit featuring many French impressionist paintings. I saw this exhibit the last time I visited the museum, but it was still enjoyable to see these paintings again. This collection received a big boost when Frederic C. Hamilton, the museum's chairman emeritus, loaned 22 impressionist paintings from his private collection to the DAM for a major show. After it was over, the museum asked if they could keep them.  Hamilton agreed, as long as copies were made to replace the originals on the walls of his home. That was in 2014, and it is only this year that they are being permanently displayed at the museum. And why exactly is that? But what I was mostly wondering was where two of the museum's most famous paintings - "Portrait de Femme" by Modigliani and "House of the Customs Officer, Varengeville" by Monet - have gone? I haven't seen them in years. Have they been pinched by art thieves, or what? Time for the DAM to fess up.