This series of murals is one of the most interesting collections I have yet to find. The murals are preserved in the Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum, which is free to the public. The murals were painted in the late 1930s and first displayed in San Francisco. The interesting features include bare-chested women and men pouring ore into a bubbling cauldron (uh, no!) There is one section that does reflect the dark and dangerous mining of ancient times (often done by slaves of convicts since a sentence to the mines was a sentence of death). The only non-Caucasian miners are the peoples of Egypt. As the time line moves along, all the other miner are male and Caucasian-typical of the 1930s. The murals proceed from the beginnings of tools to mine used in various gold/silver rushes, then the advent of industrialization and heavy-duty tools.
"Later in the decade [1930s], partly due to the fact that his two brothers were mining engineers, he turned to documenting miners. Among his many works, he produced a mural showing the history of mining. He exhibited it at the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco, and it now resides at the Colorado School of Mines." (from (
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"Irwin D. Hoffman (1901-1989), was born on Chelsea Street, East Boston in 1901, one of four sons of Russian immigrant parents. Hoffman's artistic talents were recognized very early on and by the age of 15, Hoffman enrolled as a special student at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School, and upon graduating from high school, became a full-time student on full scholarship.
At age 19, Boston's Grace Horne Galleries gave the young artist his first solo show where his works were displayed to the public in grand manner and the press referred to him as "a prodigy in portraiture." In 1924, Hoffman received The Paige Traveling Scholarship, the Museum School's most prestigious award. Traveling abroad with fellow award recipients and good friends Aiden Lassell Ripley and Carl Gordon Cutler, he studied and painted across Europe and became "grounded in the traditions of the past, but at the same time … keenly (aware of) the modern trend of painting, discerning in it a spirit and regeneration which greatly influenced his development." (Arnold Hoffman)
Upon his return from Europe, Hoffman established himself in a NYC studio, which he maintained until his death in 1989. From his base in New York, Hoffman traveled during the 30s & 40s with his brothers who owned a mining company and prospected in the southwestern US, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Many of the canvases in this current exhibition reflect these travels. Hoffman connected and became friendly with the local residents of the small villages he visited, as with the miners who worked for his brothers.
Known early on as a talented portrait artist, and later as a prominent etcher of gritty genre scenes, the current exhibition highlights Irwin D. Hoffman's mastery of the oil medium. His brilliant hues and impasto technique convey atmosphere and attitude while establishing an empathic connection between subject and viewer." (from (
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Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., closed on regular holidays and school holidays (though open during the summer months); Sunday 1-4 p.m. Identification of specimens is performed between 10 a.m. and noon, Tuesdays and Thursdays." (from (
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Being a college campus, parking is always problematic. There is never any free parking in any of the lots
- Weekday vehicle parking (including handicap parking) on campus between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. requires permits available with payment of $1.50/hour in any of the campus parking kiosks. These kiosks accept cash or credit cards. Once obtained, permits should be displayed on the dashboard of your vehicle. The museum has a limited number of reserved parking spaces in the lot northwest of our building. Enter our lot via 13th Street.
- If our lot is full, please obtain a permit from a kiosk and park in a legal spot along Maple Street, south of 13th Street. You might also find parking along 13th Street east of Maple Street. If these street spaces are taken, please park west of the museum in lot Q.
- If you would rather park for free, limited spaces may be available along the north side of 11th Street, two blocks north of our building.