Eric Bransby's 90th

Eric Bransby was honored with reception for his 90th birthday on Friday evening at Cottonwood Artists’ School, where the esteemed muralist spoke amusingly and articulately about his studies with Thomas Hart Benton and Jean Charlot. An exhibit that will be up this weekend only features work by Bransby, along with portraits of him by local artists.

Bransby and his wife Mary Ann may be the last surviving students of Charlot's predecessor at the Fine Arts Center, Boardman Robinson. (With the deaths last year of Lou Tilley and Verna Jean Versa, they’re certainly the last in this area.) That makes them the final direct links to the period when Colorado Springs was a major national, and even international, artistic community — the period of the Broadmoor Art Academy and the first years of its successor, the Fine Arts Center. Both were headed by Robinson, a celebrated draftsman, muralist and cartoonist who turned out an impressive string of students.

Bransby also spoke to me about the new judicial building mural, a project with which he was involved. He called the design constraints “unreasonable” in terms of the space to be covered and the time allotted.

The exhibit is at Cottonwood Artists’ School, 25 Cimino Drive - just south of the Colorado Avenue bridge. Call 520-1899 or email info@cottonwoodartistsschool.com for hours and information.

Edit, Oct. 30: Today Bransby asked me to remove his opinion of the new mural.