For Immediate Release: February 26, 2007 Rose Glaser Fredrick, Guest Curator 303-733-4755; rosegfredrick@comcast.net or Elaine Mariner, Executive Director, CCA 303-892-3870; elaine.mariner@state.co.us Masterpieces of Colorado: A Rich Legacy of Landscape Painting Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Colorado Council on the Arts

DENVER, (February 26, 2007) - Masterpieces of Colorado: A Rich Legacy of Landscape Painting begins its year and a half run in Durango February 24 and through April 22. This show not only gives patrons a chance to view paintings by prominent Colorado artists from the late 19th and early 20th century, as well as celebrated contemporary landscape painters, but is the primary celebration for the 40th Anniversary of the Colorado Council on the Arts.

After Durango, the show will continue on to Foothills Art Center in May, on to the Western Colorado Center for the Arts in Grand Junction opening July 28, the Freemont Center for the Arts in Canon City opening November 9, then to the El Pomar Carriage Museum at the Broadmoor from December 22 through January 31, 2008, and, finally to the Denver Public Library February through May 31, 2008.

Curator Rose Glaser Fredrick has worked with Foothills Art Center to organize this major landscape exhibition showcasing more than sixty works starting with Thomas Moran, Helen Henderson Chain, Fanka Vavra and Ernest Lawson and then jumping forward to work by 16 contemporary painters to include Charles Forsman, Len Chmiel, Karen Kitchel and Daniel Sprick.

Artworks are on loan from a number of public and private collections, as well as from the artists themselves. Private collectors include: Doug Erion, Kathy Loo, Nelson A. “Buz” and Sue Rieger, and Drs. Greg and Sheila Campbell. Lending public institutions include: Colorado Springs Pioneer Museum, Denver Public Library, El Pomar Foundation, and Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Arts. Wherever possible, artworks were borrowed from the artists themselves, offering a look at the newest in Colorado landscape works.

Masterpieces of Colorado has been generously sponsored by the Colorado Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, the El Pomar Foundation, Western States Arts Federation, the Rocky Mountain News, and Xcel Energy Foundation.

Foothills Art Center has created a series of educational materials for use in K-12 classrooms, including a selection of lesson ideas and activities connected to the Colorado Content Standards. These can be downloaded from the Foothills Art Center’s web site at www.foothillsartcenter.org/exhibitions/coloradomasterpieces

Also available from the Foothills Art Center web site is a full press kit, including artist bios and color images from the exhibit.

2007 Colorado Exhibition Schedule

List of Exhibition Artists

About the Key Players
(in alphabetical order)

About the Center for Southwest Studies
The Center of Southwest Studies was established in 1964 to serve as a museum and a research facility and to develop an interdisciplinary Southwest curriculum. The Southwest curriculum draws from courses in Anthropology, Art, Literature, History, and Sociology. The Center’s mission is to identify, preserve, and make accessible this resource for all who are interested in the history of the Four Corners region.

About the Colorado Council on the Arts
The mission of the Colorado Council on the Arts, a division of the state Office of Economic Development and International Trade, is to promote the cultural, educational and economic growth of Colorado through development of its arts and cultural heritage. The agency invests in Colorado communities by providing grants and services that make the arts more accessible to all Coloradoans, expand arts education opportunities for youth, support tourism and other economic development strategies, preserve and promote our cultural heritage, and stimulate and encourage the development of artists and arts organizations.

About Foothills Art Center
Foothills Art Center offers award-winning art exhibitions and year-round art classes in a historic setting. Located in the heart of downtown Golden, the galleries are situated in a gorgeous Neo-Gothic Victorian church, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Exhibits showcase artists of regional, national and international renown, featuring traditional and contemporary artwork. Art classes are available for people of all ages and abilities, and the gift shop offers high quality, affordable works by Colorado artists, including jewelry, ceramics, glass, paintings and much more.

About the Fremont Center for the Arts
The Fremont Center for the Arts fosters and enriches the cultural and economic health of the Greater Fremont County Region through partnerships, presentations, education and preservation of the Arts for present and future generations.

About the Guest Curator, Rose Glaser Fredrick
Rose Fredrick has worked in the Colorado arts community for nearly twenty years, curating exhibitions, promoting, lecturing and writing about artists, and advising non profit entities on how to run successful, high quality exhibitions. She has worked for such notable organizations as the National Western Stock Show, Colorado Lawyers for the Arts, Public Education and Business Coalition, and the Colorado Mountain Club, helping each to better their events by paying closer attention to the needs of the artists involved, as well as showing them ways to innovate and grow. She is a tireless supporter of Colorado artists, giving much of her free time and expertise to help further careers and open doors.

About the Western Colorado Center for the Arts
The Western Colorado Center for the Arts is a nonprofit corporation organized to promote the enjoyment and understanding of the arts through educational programs, exhibits, and the acquisition and display of a permanent collection. The Art Center has served as one of the Grand Valley’s most valuable cultural resources for over 50 years.