Andrew Speer, Metropolitan State University of Denver emeritus professor, was a visual artist, world traveler and friend to all before passing away March 12 at age 72.
Speer was awarded the title of emeritus professor of Art at MSU Denver after serving as chair of the Painting Department from 1990-2005 during a 35-year teaching career in California, Colorado and his home state of Kentucky.
Speer was known to his friends as a “gentle, thoughtful, unassuming man, with a mischievous sense of humor.”
He distinguished himself as an artist, thinker and innovator, earning the Colorado Council on the Arts COVision Award, a Kentucky Arts Council Al Smith Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts/Southern Arts Federation Regional Fellowship, a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant and a Reader’s Digest Artists at Giverny Residency. Additionally, his paintings are in numerous private, corporate and public collections across the U.S.
His many community contributions included volunteering with Metro Caring, DenUM, the visual-arts team at Trinity United Methodist Church and Artswatch. He was also a mentor to many young artists.
Celebration of life details
Date: Saturday
Time: 1-3 p.m. (remarks at 2 p.m.)
Location: 440 N. Pearl St.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Metro Caring in his name.