"Along with the best exhibition of contemporary art there's ever been in town, it's probably also the best lecture series," said Dianne Vanderlip, curator of modern and contemporary art.
She said the budget for the event is in the six figures, with funding provided by the Logans, of Vail, who are internationally recognized collectors, and the DAM Contemporaries, a museum support group.
"It's an incredibly rare event ... because these lecture series are so outrageously expensive to produce," Vanderlip said.
Their names might not all be household names among the general public, but they are all major figures in the art world, especially Ed Ruscha, who emerged in the 1960s and has now achieved the status of an old master.
The 2007 schedule will be:
Jan. 18, Ed Ruscha
.
Feb. 15, Eric Fischl
..
March 15, Betty Woodman
.
April 19, Fang Lijun
.
May 17, Enrique MartÃnez Celaya
.
July 19, Jennifer Steinkamp
.
Sept. 20, Neo Rauch
.
Oct. 19, George Condo
.
Nov. 15, Matthew Ritchie
.
Dec. 13, Gottfried Helnwein
All the lectures will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Denver Art Museum, between Broadway and Bannock streets on West 13th Avenue.
The series, sponsored by the DAM Contemporaries, is $145 for the general public, $120 for museum members and and $85 for Contemporaries members, artists and students. Individual lectures are $18 for the general public, $15 for museum members and $12 for Contemporaries members, artists and students.
For reservations, call 303-913-0150 or damcontemporaries.denverartmuseum.org.