The Clyfford Still Museum is devoted to the life and work of one of the 20th century’s most influential and enigmatic painters. Led by Founding Director Dean Sobel, our design team worked closely with curatorial staff, mayor John Hickenlooper, and Still’s surviving daughters and executors to create a home for this internationally significant collection.
The museum resides in Denver’s Civic Center, a varied district of museums, libraries, archives and seats of government. A new public forecourt mediates this setting with a dense grove of deciduous trees. Formed by walls of textured concrete, the museum is a single body opened by light on all sides, an intimate place to encounter Still’s work. At ground level, visible storage and displays of personal effects offer a broader understanding of the artist and his unique creative vision. Above, nine interconnected galleries respond to the evolving character of Still’s art, changing scale and proportion, while varying the intensity of light to serve the collection.
