DENVER ART MUSEUM 

Denver 

News: One simple word – Delight — served as both the name and the vibe for the Denver Art Museum’s spring fundraiser.  

The June 5 indoor/outdoor bash was chaired by Christopher K.M. Leach, president of Contract Furnishings, and Chad Skrbina, president of Mad About Art! Board of directors; children’s book author Sara Pappas and Charlie Pappas, co-founder and chief executive officer of Spyder Construction, and its proceeds will help fund the museum’s learning and engagement programs. 

Presenting Sponsors were Sarah Shaw Anschutz, chair of the Denver Art Museum board of trustees; the Berger Collection Educational Trust; Contract Furnishings, UMB Bank and Molly’s Spirits. 

Museum director Christoph Heinrich saluted the Berger Collection Educational Trust and UMB Bank, and their decades-long history with the DAM as “Wonderful examples of what philanthropy can be.” 

Katherine Berger, daughter of the late William M.B. Berger and chair of the Berger Collection Educational Trust, acknowledged the tribute by pointing out that her family’s goal was to help make the Denver Art Museum “A place that people want to come to again and again” — words that had been first expressed by her father. 

William M.B. Berger (1925-1999) was a retired mutual fund manager, art collector, and philanthropist who, with his second wife, Bernadette, donated some 65 pieces of important and lesser-known British art to the DAM in 2018. In a 1998 interview with The Art Newspaper, Berger said of the donation: “We’re not creating this for scholars, but to bring the public into the museum.” He compared works in the collection to a symphony. “It has serious moments and it has light moments. You can’t start them out with heavy stuff. We’ve tried to buy crowd scenes that a docent can talk with students and visitors about, with things that people can identify with.” 

The Delight festivities began with a “golden hour” cocktail reception held in the outdoor Kemper Courtyard. There, guests were treated to clever food-and-drink pairings, including shooter-sized Dulce Vida organic blanco margaritas served alongside mini chicken tacos, and bite-sized cheeseburgers perched atop tiny glasses of Odell Brewery beer. 

The call to dinner sounded just as the sun began to set, signaling everyone to proceed indoors to the Sturm Grand Pavilion, where a three-course meal featuring marinated New York strip steak awaited. 

Following a live auction and paddle-raise called by Simone D. Morrison, the scene shifted to the Morgridge Creative Hub, where refreshments and dancing to the Something Vinyl Club brought the evening to a lively finale. 

Those who had a big hand in making the night a success included such DAM trustees as Suzanne Farver, Wendy Kaufman, and Sharon Martin and a planning committee whose members included Vince Abrue, Lana Cordier, Marco Capitelli, Renee Duncan, Cindy and David Hayes, Alycia Sciascia and Jonathan Futa, Clint Van Zee, Marlowe and Harrison Crown, and Auna Jornayvaz and her fiancé, Jack DeGrave.     

Others out to support the cause: Patron ticket holders Margot Gilbert Frank, Stan and Sarah Sena, Ashvin Boodhun, Angela Harris, Zehava and Reuven Itelman, Lois Paul and Holly and Allen Oliphant; Hanne Lichtenfels; Sue McFarlane; Ed and Jessica Shaoul; Jennie and Charles Kurtz; Jamie and Dr. Andy Sirotnik; artist Judy Ellis; and Dr. Dean Prina with his spouse, artist Jonathan  Saiz. 

About the organization: The Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave. Parkway was founded in 1893 as the Denver Artists’ Club. Today it is one of the largest art museums between Chicago and the West Coast, with global art collections that represent cultures around the world. Its mission is to enrich the lives of present and future generations by acquiring, presenting, and preserving works of art. 

Website: denverartmuseum.org 

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