If you are trying to learn about art in Denver you are definitely in the right place and our first section will fully cover the best art galleries and museums near you.
After that we will get into a variety of other topics like local art supply stores, events, festivals, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, sculptures and statues, art classes, studios for rent, and the top frame shops in your area.
You can jump straight to any section that interests you most by using the table of contents on the left. Let’s get this going with our Denver art map, and we should mention the curious types can feel free to check out our other posts on the Midwest at that link.
Best Art Galleries & Museums In Denver
In our opinion the best art galleries and museums in Denver would be:
The Anschutz Collection’s permanent home can be found at the American Museum of Western Art which displays over 600 works by more than 180 artists from 10am to 4:30pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
The Clyfford Still Museum is open from 10am to 5pm Wednesday through Sunday and it was created specifically to house Clyfford Still’s art. They host indoor and outdoor performances, hands-on art workshops, informative talks by local and international experts, thought-provoking films, and more with a collection that includes nearly 830 paintings along with over 2,300 works on paper and sculptures with free admission for those aged 17 and under.
With over 70,000 works of art in its collection the Denver Art Museum is one of the largest art museums between Chicago and the West Coast. The DAM offers free general entry most days of the year and admission is free to all youths aged 18 and under as they keep regular hours of 10am to 5pm while staying open until 9pm on Tuesday providing a variety of workshops and talks plus drop-in drawing and writing programs for adults and hands-on art-making opportunities for children.
Every week the Museum of Contemporary Art hosts small activities like artist talks and live music in your area along with special services for teenagers and admission for teens is always free. Head over Tuesday through Friday from noon to 7pm or from 10am to 5pm on weekends and don’t forget about their Octopus Initiative programs that allow any Denver metro area resident to borrow and live with a piece of art created by a local artist for free for ten months.
The Abend Gallery is open from noon to 4pm Tuesday through Saturday and provides free in-home or office consultations on distribution and installation of fine original art while also having a large collection of fine art by local, national, and international creators.
With over 40 years of experience William Havu Gallery offers a lot of cool stuff to see from 10am to 6pm Tuesday through Friday and from 11am to 5pm on Saturday plus they provide quality framing services.
Materials & Supplies Near You
The best local stores to buy art supplies and materials are:
HR Meininger Company has been in business for over a century and has grown to become one of the largest Art Material stores west of the Mississippi with over 80,000 fine art, sculpture, design, and architectural materials available.
Guiry’s provides free in-store design consultations as well as in-home consultations.
ReCreative Denver sells recycled art supplies, crafts, and also hosts in-store art recycling workshops plus they rent out an art studio.
Rocky Mountain Clay offers sculpting materials, high-quality clay, and pottery.
D&L Art Glass Supply sells wholesale supplies to the craft, art glass, and jewelry industries.
You probably already know what the Michaels near you have to offer.
Shows & Events
Some of the best art shows and events held in your area are:
The Denver Arts Festival is a fine art and crafts festival that features the best artists from Colorado and around the world with over 50,000 people attending each year. The festival is free and takes place in September at the Conservatory Green Plaza area of Northfield in Central Park.
Denver Fine Art Fair takes place in October at the National Western Complex and features an exclusive roster of 60+ galleries from around the Americas and Europe while featuring one of the most diverse high-end selections of art genres and periods ever assembled under one roof in the country.
The Cheesman Park Art Fest is held in October on the park’s south side where more than 125 artists and craftspeople from around the country will exhibit their work and a diverse roster of local musicians will also perform throughout the day.
Every November Denver Arts Week hosts over 300 activities at museums, galleries, and cultural organizations in the metro region.
You also have the The First Friday Art Walks on the First Friday of each month that we are going to discuss further in the walks section.
Art Dealers & Appraisers
When you are ready to find a new piece for your collection or when you want to know how much a piece is worth you can go to art dealers and appraisers near you like:
The Rino Art District is a distinct region of the northern part of town that is rich in arts, artists’ studios, and galleries.
The Denver Graffiti Tour will take you on a 2-hour walking tour of the city’s best street art ending at the Central Market while personalized times and private tours are available.
The First Friday Art Walks are the main event of Denver’s Art District in Santa Fe that take place year-round, rain or shine, on the first Friday of every month from 5:30pm to 9:30pm.
The free Denver Free Walking Tours will take you winding through the heart of downtown visiting the top sights and public arts in your area.
The 40 West Arts District is located along Lakewood’s historic West Colfax Avenue that is a four-mile walking and biking arts experience linking three parks and featuring over 70 works of public art.
Sculptures & Statues
There are some really nice sculptures and statues near you like:
Big Blue Bear at 700-776 14th St
The Dancers at 1185-1245 Champa St
Infinite Energy at 1385 Curtis St
Thatcher Fountain at 2001 Colorado Blvd
The Yearling at 32 W 14th Ave
Public Art Aurora Akimbo at E Alameda Ave
Lawrence Argent created the Big Blue Bear which has been outside the Colorado Convention Center since 2005.
Jonathan Borofsky created the Dancers which are two 50-foot-high sculptures located near the Denver Performing Arts Complex.
Victor M. Contreras’ bronze sculpture Infinite Energy was made in 1980 and restored in 2005. It is located near the Boettcher Concert Hall and the Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex under the glass archway of the Denver Performing Arts Complex Galleria.
Thatcher Fountain is located in City Park and was designed by sculptor Lorado Taft in 1918.
Donald Lipski designed the Yearling, a 21-foot-tall and ten-foot-wide steel chair that was installed at the Public Library in the late 1990’s.
David Griggs created the public artwork Aurora Akimbo that was put up in Expo Park in 2008.
Denver Art Classes
At the best Denver art schools you can usually take private lessons or group classes for kids, teens, and adults:
Real Academy of Art is a good place to take full time or part time art lessons as they use methods influenced by Renaissance and nineteenth-century masters for both inexperienced and seasoned artists.
Art Students League of Denver offers classes and activities for people of all ages and skill levels along with summer camps and workshops. They also provide night courses, drawing or painting a live model, and open studio programs while eligible students can also apply for one of their scholarships.
Workshops, pottery lessons, and special events are available at Flux Studio and Gallery who also does personalized private and group lessons.
Neighborhood Art Studio teaches art to children while also doing seminars, parties, art camps, after-school art classes, and night classes.
Downtown Aurora Visual Arts (DAVA) provides art for children and young people with a variety of services including career training in the arts for ages 11-14, open studio programs, and a Family Arts program for children ages 3-6 with a parent or guardian. Classes are free and open to the public on a drop-in basis.
If you want to improve your skills in fine art, digital art, and photography you can take the classes at Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design which offers ten programs to choose from.
Denver Art Museum and Marie Vaughn Gallery from the best museums in your area list also offer art classes.
Cherry Creek Framing can frame everything from vintage art to college diplomas plus they make custom-made mirrors.
5280 Custom Framing displays over 2,000 frame samples and thousands of acid-free mat board samples and they can also stretch canvas and move your favorite photographs, posters, or prints to canvas.
With over 5,000 pieces Aum Framing and Gallery has the largest and most diverse collection of moldings in the city while also being able to patch and rebuild frames.
Belmar Frame & Art can handle everything from restorations to painting cleaning and consultations.
There are over 3,500 frames to choose from at Mission Trace Framing & Gallery who even offers free design consultations.
You can also get quality framing done at other places we have mentioned throughout the post like William Havu Gallery and Gallery M.
For the time being that is all we have to share about the full local art scene. You found many lists on the best galleries, museums, events, shows, supply stores, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, sculptures, classes, studios, and framers in your area that you may want to check out.
Those who are still reading this probably love art as much as we do. If so don’t be afraid to use the comments to share your own tips or to let us know if you think we got anything wrong.
We hope you enjoy your time at the best Denver art galleries, museums, supply stores, or doing whatever else you plan to do with the info.
This post and all of the posts on our site are edited by Dan Soloman who has been a huge fan of art since he was a little kid. His mother was a good local artist, and she taught him the trade from a very early age. He studied art and its history in both high school and college, has worked at multiple galleries, and recently has begun creating and editing online content for this site and some other online media platforms.
