William Matthews: Drawn to Paint

William Matthews, who grew up in San Francisco, didn’t set out to be a Western artist. His first show in Denver, in the then-just-six-year-old Larimer Square, featured pastoral watercolors and poster typography. But in the early ’80s, Matthews was invited to Elko, Nevada, for a cowboy poetry gathering, and it...

By Patricia Calhoun

January 22, 2015

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William Matthews, who grew up in San Francisco, didn’t set out to be a Western artist. His first show in Denver, in the then-just-six-year-old Larimer Square, featured pastoral watercolors and poster typography. But in the early ’80s, Matthews was invited to Elko, Nevada, for a cowboy poetry gathering, and it changed his art — and his life. Today Matthews is one of the country’s most successful Western artists, even if he doesn’t think of himself as a Western artist. “I’m not a cowboy,” he says. “I’ve never drawn a paycheck from a ranch.”

But he’s visited plenty: “The only way to see these things is to get off the pavement,” he points out. You can see the results of his explorations in Trespassing, a stunning exhibit of 27 Matthews works (including a poster for that first Larimer Square show) now on display at the Denver Art Museum; although he’s been in the museum’s collection for more than a decade, this is his first show there.

And tonight at 6:30 p.m., you can get a more in-depth look at the artist’s career when the new documentary William Matthews: Drawn to Paint, co-directed by Chad Herschberger and Amie Knox (who also produced the film), screens in the lower level of the DAM’s Hamilton building. You’ll also be able to see the show — but if you miss it (or want to come back to study the incredible “Branding Arrangement”), Trespassing will be up through May 17. Tickets to the screening are $10 for museum members, $13 for others; for more information, go to denverartmuseum.org.
Fri., Jan. 23, 6:30-7:30 p.m., 2015

Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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