Where: Vicki Myhren Gallery
Ends: Sept. 27
Gallery hours: Tues. – Sun. 12-5 p.m. and Thursday 12-7 p.m.
Price: Free

Returning to school can be tough. And it can be even harder to appreciate education as a privilege rather than a jail sentence, especially after coming out of an epic summer.

The Vicki Myhren Gallery chose to express their appreciation of donated artworks through a free exhibit. The on-campus gallery is the lucky receiver of over 3,300 pieces of art from art donors. In celebration of their donations, the gallery is currently hosting an exhibit until Sept. 27, suitably called “Recent Gifts to the University Art Collections.”

Among said donors is The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, which donated eight large-scale prints to the University’s gallery. Pre-exhibit, gallery-goers voted on which print they wanted to see on display. The winning print was “Queen Elizabeth II” from Warhol’s Reigning Queens series (she was celebrated as the longest reigning monarch in Britain earlier this month).

Some of the other donors hit closer to home, one of them being Helen Driscoll who passed away April 15 of this year. Her husband, Bill Driscoll, was a professor at the university and the Driscoll Bridge was named in his honor after his passing in 1983.

Helen Driscoll’s donations of Southwestern and Native American works are on display at the exhibit — a contribution that not only pays tribute to the university, but also to a minority group that has strong ties to Denver’s history.

A watercolor painting from Elaine Long, prints from Thomas Nast and James McNeill Whistler, and a Vance Kirkland painting are also on display. For more information on the exhibit visit the Gallery’s website or try and stop by between classes.