Press Information
Victoria H. Myhren supports visual arts at DU
Originally posted 2002
The principal art gallery at the University of Denver’s School of Art and Art History was named in honor of Victoria H. Myhren in 2001. In the fall of 2000, soon after completing her bachelor of fine arts degree with a concentration in art history at the University of Denver, Vicki and husband Trygve had funded a generous endowment to support the gallery. In addition, the Myhrens provided a challenge grant of $50,000 to remodel the lobby of the Shwayder Art Building, converting it into an exhibition venue for student work. Their generosity makes it possible for the Victoria H. Myhren Gallery to mount major exhibitions and institute educational programming for the public and for the University community.
Victoria H. Myhren
Myhren has had a life-long love of the visual arts. As a young woman traveling with her aunt, a serious contemporary art collector, she had the fortune to meet both Pablo Picasso and Henry Moore. After studying art history in California and at the Colorado Women’s College, Vicki became the director of the Joseph Magnin Art Galleries, later founding the Hamilton Lawler Gallery. She continues to serve as curator of the Jones International corporate collection. She also serves as a staff aid in the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Denver Art Museum and Chairs the Advisory Board of the Victoria H. Myhren Gallery.
Victoria Myhren has embraced a number of philanthropic causes outside the visual arts as well. She has led efforts in New York to raise millions of dollars for hunger relief and has promoted awareness of domestic violence and other women’s issues in Colorado and Rhode Island. She is a former Grand Marshall of the Beaux Arts Ball, an annual event to benefit Denver’s National Jewish Hospital.
At the University of Denver (where Trygve has served on the Board of Trustees since 1995), the Myhrens have made significant contributions to a number of major programs and projects, including the Daniels College of Business, the Graduate School of International Studies, and the Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.