Art Guild history

And so, by 1928, the artists of the growing Denver area “felt the need for a successor organization to the Denver Art Association and the Artists Club.

In 1929, wealthy art lovers Delight and Garfield Merner bought 3.5 acres of the land located at the edge of Menlo Park, part of the Jeff Murray farm.

1948: A Split in the Artists Guild

By the 1960's, the Peoria Art Guild and other performing organizations partnered to create the Lakeview museum.

The Peoria Art Guild was established in 1969 after 90 years of collaborations with arts and education in the Peoria area.

The Denver Artists Guild—renamed the Colorado Artists Guild in 1990 to better describe its area of activity—is the second oldest artists’ organization in Colorado.

Lara founded Optimum Design & Consulting in 1992 after completing a BS Degree in Graphic Communications Management and Technology and working toward a Masters in Magazine Publication Management from New York University (NYU).

After his death in 1994, Cynthia began looking into his background and his long-standing membership in the guild, with a view to “writing a book about him to help preserve his legacy.”

James graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 1998 as one of the first recipients of their Sequential Arts bachelor degree programs.

Paula joined the Graphic Artists Guild in 2001, working as a volunteer for the At-Large Chapter before becoming a Regional Administrator for the Guild.

James Bratten started doing freelance design in 2006 while working toward his BFA in Graphic Design and Illustration at Southeast Missouri State University.

Upon graduating in 2008, he expanded his silent base to all corners of the US and relocated for a short while to Chicago before moving back to Missouri and settling in the Columbia area.

He founded James Stowe Illustration in 2012 after spending twenty years as an in-house illustrator, designer and creative director.