Boulder has grown in more ways than size. David Haslam, owner of The Boulder Art Gallery, has sold art in downtown Boulder for more than 25 years. When he started out in the 1970s, few people would consider paying more than $200 for a piece of fine art. Over the years, Haslam says he’s witnessed the birth of an art movement here. Local artists who 10 years ago could not sell to their own community now make a living doing what they love due to the efforts of Boulder’s art galleries, Haslam says.
Indeed, artists who have made their careers in other places are now coming to Boulder, and Haslam is able to sell their works at his exquisite gallery at 1217 Spruce St.
In 1991, Haslam first saw the work of Boulder artist Sandra Bierman at a local bookstore. Among the paintings was a woman huddled, as if mourning over a baby. Bars behind her took on a menacing look, striping the blue-gray painting with pain. “I was floored by the courage it took for a woman to paint with this kind of emotional intensity,” says Haslam, who worked hard to convince others that Bierman would be a famous artist. Today, customers come to The Boulder Art Gallery from all over the country to purchase Bierman’s work, Haslam says.
Once an artist himself, Haslam is passionate about art and helping artists make a living. “Fine art can be a treasure,” Haslam says, “and exquisite art will reward owners for their entire lives.” Haslam’s standards are high, and his goal is to treat customers to works “museums will court their heirs over.”
“People imagine that their grandparents’ generation could still buy museum-quality art, but they themselves can’t. My job is to find this art, know the difference between quality and fad, and make it available to people who long to collect things of worth.”
Boulder has become more appreciative of fine art too, Haslam says. “It used to be that anyone who had serious art buying to do went to New York or Santa Fe. That’s changed. These days, we all can enjoy the benefits of living in a lovely and culturally rich community.”

High-Calibre Collaborations
The town’s receptiveness to talent has enabled Haslam to attract high-calibre artists to his gallery. One is Yan-zhou Xu, the leader of a generation of Chinese painters who studied Western art at the close of the Cultural Revolution. After completing an advanced degree at Tulane University, Xu scoured the country looking for a place to live. He chose Boulder County, and The Boulder Art Gallery to represent his art. Since moving here, Xu has sold nearly 40 paintings to locals through Haslam’s gallery, many of whom loaned their paintings for a recent showing of Xu’s work at the Loveland Museum.
Robert Venosa is another internally renowned artist represented by Haslam. When Venosa’s friend, Salvador Dalí, died, the artist left Cadaqués, Spain (where Dalí had lived also) and moved to Boulder. After 18 years, Venosa now shows his work permanently in Boulder for the first time at The Boulder Art Gallery.
Haslam’s other well-known artists include Ann Herzog Wright, a respected impressionist whose work has been solicited by the Boston Museum of Fine Art. Her paintings of rural Colorado scenes are popular with many Boulder collectors and art lovers, Haslam says. Elizabeth Black and William Napier are other nationally known landscape artists represented by The Boulder Art Gallery. “Elizabeth recently had the longest article ever published in American Watercolor because of her extraordinary technique,” he notes. “And I can’t keep Napier’s work on the walls for more than a day or two before it sells.”
In addition to fine art, Haslam’s gallery also carries antique prints and artifacts. “Most people don’t realize artifacts can exist outside of museums,” Haslam says. His gallery inventory includes a wondrous Egyptian funeral mask, stunning Faience pieces, and pre-Columbian keros, incensorias and statuary. “The most common comment when people see this display is, ‘Hey, these aren’t fakes. They’re real!’’’
Resisting the temptation to solicit popular artists who sell the best, Haslam says his business is to promote art “that is beautiful, eternal and will take place in any home as superb company for life.” That view has helped make The Boulder Art Gallery stand out among competitors.