In Allen’s Park (now Allenspark)
Year c. 1905
Artist (William) Henry Read (1851–1935, American, b. England)
Media oil on canvas board
Dimensions 12 x 8 inches
Born in England in 1851, Henry Read moved to Denver in 1890 to recover from tuberculosis and in 1893 was one of 13 founders of the Denver Artist’s Club, the forerunner of the Denver Art Museum. Read opened his Students’ School of Art in Denver in 1895 and would count among his students Elisabeth Spalding, Waldo Love and Allen Tupper True. After working in locations less than ideal for an art school, in 1910 Read commissioned architects Maurice B. Biscoe (1871–1953) and Henry H. Hewitt (1875–1926) to build a structure at 13th Avenue and Pearl Street specifically designed for training students in the fine arts. In 1932 Vance Kirkland would first rent and later purchase this building to house his own Kirkland School of Art and after relocation the building stands today as part of Kirkland Museum. In addition to teaching, Read was a practicing artist and designer: he created the official seals of the City and County of Denver in 1901 and the University of Colorado in 1908 and was instrumental in the development of Denver’s Civic Center through his work as president of the Denver Art Commission.
ON VIEW in Arts & Crafts Gallery 3
Signature Signed "H Read" lower left corner
Credit Line Collection Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art
Accession Number 2008.0862
