Local artist Veryl Goodnights sculpture A New Beginning, a bronze sculpture standing more than six feet tall of a traveling Victorian-era western woman, was unveiled in Denver last week as a new addition to the History Colorado Center. The sculpture is located at the museums school group entrance on 12th Avenue.
The piece was donated by James J. Volker. Volker, who has served on History Colorados board since 2007, dedicated Goodnights A New Beginning to Colorado educators. In 2006, Volker also donated T.D. Kelseys On the Wind, a 10-by-13 foot, 3,000-pound bronze North American bison first featured at the former Colorado History Museum and relocated to the History Colorado Centers Broadway entrance.
The History Colorado Center will bring history to life for thousands of schoolchildren each year, said Volker, CEO of Whiting Petroleum Corporation. With them are the teachers who dedicate their lives to helping their students become civically engaged adults. Veryls A New Beginning is dedicated to all the teachers who serve in Colorados classrooms across the state.
Western women of the past have been the subject of Goodnights sculptures for nearly 30 years. I am always looking for ways to portray Western women that speak of the time and circumstances in which they lived, said Goodnight. Change seems to be a consistent theme and the 1890s certainly ushered in a dramatic time of change for women. Goodnight noted that western women serve as an inspiration in their quest for equal rights and independent spirit. Colorado was a leader in womens suffrage, and was the first state already admitted to the Union to grant voting rights to women.
How fitting that A New Beginning a piece symbolizing the universal hope, courage and spirit of Coloradans welcomes everyone who comes to the History Colorado Center through the school group entrance or who passes by 12th Avenue, said Ed Nichols, History Colorado President and CEO. We thank Jim for his thoughtful selection and Veryl for her extraordinary and inimitable talent in bringing the pioneering spirit of Western women alive in her work.
One of my favorite quotes is Art is completed by the viewer, said Goodnight. For Jim Volker, A New Beginning represents a teacher who has come to Colorado to nurture a new generation of students. The History Colorado Center is a fitting location for this piece. Because of my love for Colorado, this placement is one of the most meaningful in my career as a sculptor.
The History Colorado Center opens April 28. For tickets and information visit HistoryColoradoCenter.org.
Goodnight and her husband, Roger Brooks, live in the mountains of Southwest Colorado. The dramatic landscape, abundant wildlife, and ranching community provide endless inspiration for both sculpture and painting.
Goodnight has monuments across the United States and in Europe. The most notable is The Day The Wall Came Down, a seven-ton sculpture of five horses jumping over the fallen Berlin Wall. The Day The Wall Came Down was on loan from Goodnight to the City of Denver from 1993 until 1998, when it left Denver for Berlin, Germany. A sister casting is permanently located at the George H. W. Bush Memorial Library at Texas A&M University.
Goodnights work has been profiled in many books and her work has been featured in all major American art magazines. She exhibits in Masters of the American West, Los Angeles, Ca.; Cheyenne Governors Invitational, Cheyenne, Wyo.; Quest for the West, Indianapolis, Ind.; the Northwest Rendezvous, Helena, Mont.; and Cowgirl Up in Wickenburg, Ariz. She is a Fellow of the National Sculpture Society.
2011 was a banner year, as the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Okla. honored Goodnight with a 40-year retrospective exhibit; the book No Turning Back the Art of Veryl Goodnight was released; and her sculpture, Ready to Ride, was awarded Best of Show of Cowgirl Up at the Desert Caballeros Museum in Wickenburg, Ariz.
Established in 1879, the Colorado Historical Society todays History Colorado preserves Colorados rich heritage through the State Historical Fund, the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, collections stewardship, statewide museums and programs for students, educators and visitors of all ages. History Colorado is headquartered in the History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway, Denver, Colo. 80203 in Denvers Golden Triangle Museum District. Find History Colorado at Facebook.com/HistoryColorado and @HistoryColorado. For more information, visit HistoryColorado.org or call 303-HISTORY.