Barbara J. Thompson’s gift of more than one hundred prints, featuring the landscape, architecture, wildlife, and people of the American Southwest, adds important nuance to the history of western American art presented by the Denver Art Museum. Thompson has given this gift in honor of her grandfather C. A. Seward, who was a printmaker and founder of the print society The Prairie Printmakers, based in Wichita, Kansas.
In addition to being a print collector, Thompson has had careers as an author, curator, interior designer, antiques dealer, and museum educator. In fact, her work as a museum educator began at the Denver Art Museum, where she helped build bridges between the curatorial and education (now Learning & Engagement) teams. Later, she advised curator David Park Curry on the strategic acquisitions of prints for the American art collection. Her recent gift of fine art prints continues her long commitment to the institution’s collections and programs.
This publication is underwritten by Thompson’s nephew Jason Elder through the National Christian Foundation. We are grateful to Jason for his support of this important initiative to make the collection more widely accessible.
Thanks to the Thompson Collection, the Petrie Institute of Western American art is better equipped to shine a spotlight on printmakers of the American West and to enrich the stories the museum tells in the permanent galleries of the western American art collection on the seventh floor of the Martin Building.
I extend my gratitude to JR Henneman, Director and Curator of the Petrie Institute of Western American Art here at the Denver Art Museum, for shepherding this gift into the permanent collection. My appreciation also goes to Meg Selig, Curatorial Assistant, whose printmaking expertise helped shape this volume. I thank the Harmes C. Fishback Foundation for its generosity. Finally, I acknowledge the donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), without whom our research, exhibitions, and publications would not be possible.