Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
A Colorado Springs institution combining an art museum, art school, and performing arts center.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, now known as the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, is a multidisciplinary arts institution in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Its facilities bring together a museum, a performing arts organization, an art school, galleries, studios, educational programs, and event spaces in a single campus near downtown Colorado Springs and the Colorado College campus. The institution is particularly associated with the art and cultures of the American Southwest, Native American communities, Latin America, and Hispanic America, while also presenting broader American and modern art. The center was created during the Great Depression through the leadership and philanthropy of Alice Bemis Taylor. Taylor provided $600,000 for construction and established a $400,000 endowment. Her aims were both cultural and civic: the building offered employment to workers during a period of severe economic hardship, while the resulting institution was intended to make art accessible to the public. Taylor contributed substantial collections of Native American and Hispanic art as well as approximately 6,000 volumes of Americana. She appointed Mitchell Wilder as curator. The project built on the earlier Broadmoor Art Academy, whose grounds had been associated with land donated by Julie Penrose, and was developed with the participation of Elizabeth Sage Hare. Designed by New Mexico architect John Gaw Meem, the building combines modernist construction with Pueblo Revival, Spanish Colonial, Southwestern, Art Deco, and classical elements. Its poured-concrete massing, regional decorative language, Native American-inspired ornament, murals, aluminum, and glass made it an important example of the Santa Fe style. The architecture received a Silver Medal at the Fifth Quadrennial Pan American Congress of Architecture in 1940. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 3, 1986, under its original name. The original opening in April 1936 established the center's unusually broad cultural mandate. The program included a performance of Martha Graham's Lamentation—Dance of Sorrow, a lecture by Frank Lloyd Wright, an opera with life-size marionettes associated with Manuel de Falla, and stage design by Alexander Calder for a sung dialogue based on Erik Satie's Socrate. The art school also attracted instructors including Boardman Robinson, Adolf Dehn, and Jean Charlot. Over time, the institution developed a museum collection, changing exhibitions, theater productions, community classes, and public programs. The museum presents permanent and rotating exhibitions, with particular strengths in Native American, Latin American, Hispanic American, and Southwestern art. Its holdings include works associated with artists such as John Singer Sargent, Georgia O'Keeffe, Richard Diebenkorn, Walt Kuhn, and Ansel Adams, as well as Dale Chihuly chandeliers. The Fine Arts Center Theatre Company produces comedies, dramas, and musicals, while the Bemis School of Art provides classes and studio-based instruction for adults and children. A major expansion completed in 2006 added more than 48,000 square feet. The project expanded classroom and rehearsal capacity, added museum exhibition space, and created galleries for American Indian, Latin American, and American art. The expansion was designed by David Tryba and built to American Alliance of Museums standards. On July 1, 2017, the institution formally joined with Colorado College, becoming the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College. It continues to operate as a regional cultural institution serving Colorado Springs and the wider community.
History
The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center emerged from a regional cultural movement that included the Broadmoor Art Academy and philanthropic support for the arts in Colorado Springs. Alice Bemis Taylor was the principal force behind the institution. In 1936 she financed construction with $600,000 and established a $400,000 endowment. Her support addressed both cultural and economic needs during the Great Depression: construction created work for unemployed laborers, while the completed center was intended to make art available to the public without the barriers associated with elite institutions. Taylor also donated major collections of Native American and Hispanic art and a library of roughly 6,000 volumes of Americana. Mitchell Wilder was appointed curator. The site had earlier been associated with the Broadmoor Art Academy and land donated by Julie Penrose. Elizabeth Sage Hare also worked with Taylor and Penrose in developing the institution. Their goal was distinctive for its time: one building would combine an art museum, an art school, and a venue for live performance. This integrated model gave the Fine Arts Center a broader mission than a conventional museum and shaped its subsequent identity. John Gaw Meem designed the building. His architecture adapted Pueblo and Spanish Colonial traditions to a modern poured-concrete structure, producing what became known as a Santa Fe-style synthesis. The building incorporates Southwestern forms, Art Deco treatment, classical proportions, aluminum, glass, and abstracted Native American motifs. Exterior murals were created by Boardman Robinson and Frank Mechau. Interior features include aluminum relief panels by Arnold Rönnebeck and murals associated with Andrew Dasburg, Kenneth Adams, Ward Lockwood, and Archie Musick. The building's regional architectural character and unusually modern construction were recognized with a Silver Medal at the Fifth Quadrennial Pan American Congress of Architecture in 1940. The April 1936 grand opening demonstrated the institution's ambition. Martha Graham performed Lamentation—Dance of Sorrow, Frank Lloyd Wright lectured on the building, Manuel de Falla was associated with an opera using life-size marionettes, and Alexander Calder designed scenery for a sung dialogue based on Erik Satie's Socrate. The art school attracted prominent instructors, including Boardman Robinson, Adolf Dehn, and Jean Charlot. Over subsequent decades, the center developed a permanent collection and exhibition program focused strongly on the Southwest, Native American art, Latin American art, and Hispanic American art, while also acquiring and presenting important works from the wider American and modern art traditions. The institution's performing arts work became organized through the Fine Arts Center Theatre Company, which presents comedies, dramas, and musicals. Its educational role continued through the Bemis School of Art, which offers classes and studio experiences for children and adults. Museum galleries, public programs, a retail shop, event areas, and a theater support the center's combined cultural and community functions. In 2006, the center completed an expansion of more than 48,000 square feet. Designed by David Tryba, the project added museum exhibition space and expanded facilities for the Bemis School of Art and theater rehearsals. It also created substantial gallery areas for American Indian, Latin American, and American art and was developed to American Alliance of Museums standards. The historic building and its additions remain adjacent to Monument Valley Park and overlook the broader Pikes Peak landscape. On July 1, 2017, the Fine Arts Center joined Colorado College. The resulting institution became the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, linking the center's museum, theater, and art-school activities more closely with the college. The original building had already been recognized for its architectural and historic importance when it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 3, 1986. Today, the center remains a Colorado Springs cultural institution whose identity rests on the combination of collection stewardship, exhibitions, live performance, arts education, and regional cultural interpretation.
- 2017
Affiliation with Colorado College begins
[1]On July 1, the center joined Colorado College and became the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College.
- 2006
Major facility expansion completed
[1]More than 48,000 square feet of museum, classroom, studio, and rehearsal capacity was added.
- 1986
Building listed on the National Register of Historic Places
[1]The building was listed on July 3, 1986, under the name Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.
- 1940
Architecture receives Pan American recognition
[1]John Gaw Meem's design received a Silver Medal at the Fifth Quadrennial Pan American Congress of Architecture.
- 1936
Fine Arts Center opens
[1]The institution opened as a combined museum, art school, and performing arts venue, supported by Alice Bemis Taylor's construction funding and endowment.
Products and positioning
A multidisciplinary regional arts institution centered on Southwestern, Native American, Latin American, and Hispanic American art, combined with theater and accessible community education.
Art museum · 1936
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Museum
The museum operates galleries for permanent holdings, curated exhibitions, and traveling shows. Its collection is especially associated with Native American, Southwestern, Latin American, and Hispanic American art, alongside broader American and modern art. Artists represented in the collection include John Singer Sargent, Georgia O'Keeffe, Richard Diebenkorn, Walt Kuhn, and Ansel Adams. The building also contains notable architectural and decorative works, including Dale Chihuly chandeliers and murals by several regional artists.
Performing arts · 1936
Fine Arts Center Theatre Company
The theater company presents live dramatic and musical programming in the center's purpose-built performance facilities. Its repertoire includes comedies, dramas, and musicals, continuing the institution's original commitment to combining visual art, education, and performance under one roof.
Arts education · 1936
Bemis School of Art
The Bemis School of Art provides community-oriented instruction for children and adults. Its facilities include studios and classrooms, and the school forms the educational component of the center's multidisciplinary model. The 2006 expansion increased space for classes and related activities.
Cultural programming · 1936
Exhibitions and public programs
The center presents an annual program of curated and traveling exhibitions, museum activities, performances, classes, and special events. The programming connects regional and international artistic perspectives with the cultural history of the American Southwest.
Brand decisions
2017
Institutional affiliation with Colorado CollegeM&ABackground
The Fine Arts Center and Colorado College pursued an institutional combination that linked the arts center's museum, theater, and art-school operations with the college.
Action taken
On July 1, 2017, the center joined Colorado College and adopted the name Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College.
Aftermath
The affiliation established Colorado College as the center's parent institution and connected the center more closely to the college campus and educational mission.
2006
Expansion of museum and education facilitiesStrategyBackground
The center needed additional space for exhibitions, art education, and theater operations while preserving its multidisciplinary role.
Action taken
A more-than-48,000-square-foot expansion added galleries, museum space, Bemis School of Art studios and classrooms, and theater rehearsal facilities.
Aftermath
The center increased its capacity for exhibitions, community education, and production preparation, with the new construction designed to American Alliance of Museums standards.
Recent events
- 2017
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center joins Colorado College[1]
M&A
The Fine Arts Center entered an institutional affiliation with Colorado College and adopted the name Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College.
- 2006
Fine Arts Center expansion adds museum, classroom, and rehearsal capacity[1]
Other
A major expansion added more than 48,000 square feet, including exhibition areas, art-school studios, classrooms, and theater rehearsal facilities.
- 1986
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center listed on National Register of Historic Places[1]
Other
The center's historic building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places under its former name.
Sources2 sources
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