The Kirkland Founders

Hugh A. Grant
Founding Director & Curator Emeritus, Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art

Hugh A. Grant established the Kirkland Foundation in 1996 to document, rediscover, collect, preserve, exhibit, and publish Colorado artists. The Colorado collection is concerned with traditional through modern art.

Grant assembled the majority of The Kirkland’s celebrated international decorative art collection—recognized as one of the most important displays in North America which includes notable examples of every major design period from Arts & Crafts through Postmodern. The Kirkland also features a collection of works by Vance Kirkland (1904–1981), the distinguished Colorado painter, whose works have received more than 350 exhibitions at 70 museums and 35 universities encompassing 13 countries, many organized by Grant.

Grant and Kirkland Museum have loaned many artworks to institutions in Colorado as well as nationally and internationally. Grant has authored numerous articles on art for books, magazines, catalogs and brochures.

Grant won the Heartland Emmy Award for Best Entertainment Program of 2001 for his role as Executive Producer of The Artist and The Muse, a ballet that aired on PBS stations, also winning 11 other awards. Grant wrote the scenario for this ballet, chose the 20th century classical music, and dovetailed the scenario and music together, which was then performed by Colorado Ballet. Grant has also been Executive Producer of two other art documentaries airing on PBS stations. Grant appeared in three HGTV “Hey Remember” decorative art programs. Grant has won two bronze (2nd) Chris Awards and a Silver CINDY (2nd). Antiques Roadshow, the PBS television series, taped at Kirkland Museum for two days in July 2009.

Other awards Grant has received include the 2015 Citizens of the Arts Award from the Fine Arts Foundation, the 2009 Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Award for Contributions in the Field of Arts and Humanities, the 2000 Historic Denver—Ann Love Award for Historic Preservation, the 2000 AFKEY Award from the Alliance for Contemporary Art (AFCA) at the Denver Art Museum and the 1999 Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.

He received an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Denver (2003) and a BA from Colorado State University in Ft. Collins (1967). His first two years at college were at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.

Merle C. Chambers
Founder, Chambers Fund and Chambers Initiative

A discerning collector of decorative arts, Merle C. Chambers was important to the growth of The Kirkland’s collection and instrumental in the construction of the building housing The Kirkland. Her financial support, both individually and through Chambers Fund, was a vital investment in The Kirkland as a Colorado art institution, and in the further development of the Golden Triangle Neighborhood and Denver’s nationally important art scene. During the building design process, it was Merle’s vision to move Vance Kirkland’s studio from its original location on Pearl Street to the Golden Triangle.

A pioneer of women’s leadership, Merle was one of few women CEOs in the male-dominated oil and gas industry. For more than 20 years, she led Axem Resources Inc., a privately held independent oil and gas exploration and production company. Merle sold Axem and founded Chambers Fund (a private grantmaking foundation) with a commitment to long-term economic security and social justice. She deepened this commitment through Chambers Initiative, a time-limited strategic alignment of the foundation’s grantmaking with expanded personal giving in support of democracy, economic opportunity, and reproductive justice. After more than four decades of sustained advocacy and systems-change investments in Colorado, Chambers Fund and Initiative ended operations in 2024 after completing a spend-down.

Actively involved in civic and cultural affairs in Colorado, Merle believes arts and culture institutions are vital in creating and sustaining vibrant and livable communities, inspiring civic pride and providing educational and engaging experiences. She has supported numerous arts organizations in Denver to sustain their general operations and ensure future viability. Merle has been a major donor to various arts and culture capital campaigns, including the Denver Art Museum, Clyfford Still Museum, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Colorado Ballet, Colorado Symphony, Aspen Music Festival & School, and the National Museum of African American History & Culture. President Biden appointed Merle to the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts in 2022.

In recognition of her success with Axem Resources, Merle was the first woman inducted into the Rocky Mountain Oil & Gas Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame, served on the National Petroleum Council (an advisory body to the U.S. Secretary of Energy), and President Clinton appointed her to the White House Conference on Small Business Commission. An innovative leader in philanthropy, Merle has received numerous awards including the AFKEY Award from the Alliance for Contemporary Art at the Denver Art Museum (2000), National Philanthropy Day’s Outstanding Philanthropist (2002), the Fine Arts Foundation’s Citizen of the Arts (2015), the Bonfils-Stanton Award for Community Service (2016), and the CBCA John Madden, Jr. Leadership Award (2023). In 2004 she was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame.

Merle joined the Denver Art Museum Board of Trustees in 2019.