MUSEUM FOUNDER WINS BONFILS-STANTON AWARD

Hugh Grant, founder of the Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art, has won a Bonfils-Stanton Award in the arts and humanities category, according to the Denver Business Journal. Each year, the Bonfils Stanton Foundation names three Colorado residents as respective winners in three areas—arts and humanities, community service, and science and medicine—for contributions toward improving the quality of life in the state. Each prize winner receives thirty-five thousand dollars.

Hugh Grant originally established the Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art in 2003 “to preserve the work and collections of Denver artist Vance Kirkland, best know for his watercolors, abstract oil-and-water mixtures, and vibrant ‘Dot Paintings,’” according to a news release. He was the museum’s founder, director, and curator. He also worked with Colorado Ballet to present Dreamspace, a theatrical ballet based on Kirkland’s life, and won a Heartland Emmy Award as producer of The Artist and the Muse, a ballet that was broadcast on PBS stations.