INTRODUCTION
The works of our artists have soared at public auctions in recent years. Turner and Moran canvases
routinely realize prices in the $12 to $18 million range. Turner also holds the world record for a
watercolor [the size of a place-mat!] - 5.8 million pounds [circa $8.7 million], realized at public auction in
2006. His original prints, including the progressive proofs, often annotated with Turner‟s corrections and
instructions, are becoming scarcer with every passing year.
What is unique about us?
Our business plan: to be a cash-cow. Founded in 1973 in Denver, then called a “cow-town” and
operating in Colorado, “a cultural desert”, our friends predicted failure. We had to be self-sufficient. Out
of the furnace of this necessity is born a business plan: to present art to the public by appealing to all
our five senses simultaneously.
By appealing to our eyes with the art on the wall; to our ears with music, live and piped in classic, [not
classical], music; to our nose with the fragrance of flowers and the bouquet of wines; to our taste with
gourmet meals and splendid tea parties and to our touch with antique furniture and decorative elements
of the highest order;
The bottom line: once the museum building is financed, and provided with start-up expenses, every
year was profitable. That included our early years when Denver, headquarters for 2,000+ energy
firms, [more than in Houston,] was severely hit by a depression caused by the collapse of an oil-
boom.
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Our supporters have simple tastes easily satisfied with perfection
Important Dates in the History of The Turner Museum
AH dates etc. can be further refined by additional research - our history is well documented by art
catalogs, concert brochures and other material.
1966 - A MOMA exhibition in New York, 'Imagination and Reality', highlights Turner as the father of the
Impressionists, (perennial best-sellers) which turned me on to Turner
1969 - Meet Salvador Dali, whose 'improbable' favorite artist is Turner, tauntingly calls Turner - upon setting
eyes on me - “the worst artist”.
1973 - Incorporate my art collection as a non-profit. Purchase a near-ruined mansion in the run-down Capitol Hill district of Denver, with an assumable VA loan, for $500 down, financed by a car loan on my beloved 240Z.
1974
- Phil Anschutz, art collector and legendary wildcatter, loans five of his Thomas Moran oil paintings for
our inaugural exhibition at the Denver Club, giving The Turner unchallenged credibility. Birth of my love for
Moran and the National Parks; his art was inspired by being a résident of Colorado - 70% of which is public
land.
1975
- The three most eminent Turner authorities in the U.K. agrée to serve as Advisory Trustées, giving the
baby Turner instant credibility among the arcane British art establishment.
1976
- Organize our first large trend-setting exhibition, Turner and Moran', the first pairing of master and
admirer on this planet. First chamber music concert, repeated every year there after, with the identical thème
as that year's art exhibition.
1978
- Elected to the board (vice-président) of The Turner Society London, of which Prince Charles is
Honorary Patron.
1979
and onward The Turner's cutting-edge exhibitions and musical présentations continue, including
Turner's Cosmic Optimism', Turner's Angels' (which tours two other muséums), Turner's Rainbows', (with a
large rainbow projected over the two main galleries); Turner's Children - So Much Love' - coinciding with
UNESCO's Year of the Children; and Turner's Powerful Allégories'.
1980s - Muséum building, along with entire City block, designated a “historié district”.
1989 and in every annual publication thereafter, of The Atlantic's supplément on America's 99 Finest Art
Muséums', The Turner is featured - we reach the pinnacle in this highly compétitive field - on account of our
unique way of presenting art to the public!
1993 - The 6 volume monumental illustrated Catalog of The Turner is published, to celebrate its 20th birthday;
it lists over 600 prime original prints and more than 60 unique Turner (and Moran) art works.
1998
- Establish www.turnermuseum.org, the first online art muséum on the planet.
1999
- The Turner publishes, the first ever online art book, Triple Turner Treat' which includes the
'Adventures of an art collector', a Turner biography written about his art works and a complète new
chronological 'Catalogue of Turner's Prints'.
2003
- Major exhibition, Art Center, Sarasota, “Introducing J.M.W. Turner to Florida'.
2004 - Listed among 'One Thousand Great Americans', (a research compilation by the Biographical Center of Cambridge, England), and in ail subséquent éditions.
2009 - A private collector offers his Turners, with an estimated value of upward of $20 million, including a
huge seascape, provided we can properly house them. This kick-starts the présent intensified effort to find a
permanent home for The Turner.
