Photos: Al Wynne's artistic legacy has been lost to the Black Forest fire

The Black Forest fire, which started June 11 northeast of Colorado Springs, has been deemed the costliest in state history. "Surely, the loss of every house represents a tragedy for the people who lived there," writes Westword art critic Michael Paglia in this week's Artbeat column. "But in one case,...

By Jonathan Shikes

June 27, 2013

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

The Black Forest fire, which started June 11 northeast of Colorado Springs, has been deemed the costliest in state history. "Surely, the loss of every house represents a tragedy for the people who lived there," writes Westword art critic Michael Paglia in this week's Artbeat column. "But in one case, the loss of a particular house -- the Wynne home and studio -- is more than that: It's the greatest disaster in the history of Colorado art.

That's because inside was nearly the entire life's work of Lou Wynne, an accomplished ceramics artist, and her late husband, Al Wynne, who was among the state's premier abstract painters. The family plans to sort through the rubble, hoping to salvage some of the ceramics, though hundred of Al's paintings and watercolors were completely lost.

See photos of some of his work on the next two pages.

Follow us on Twitter!

Like us on Facebook!

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.