Christoph Heinrich

Christoph Heinrich, PhD, was named the Frederick and Jan Mayer Director of the Denver Art Museum in 2010, after serving the museum for two years as curator of modern and contemporary art. Since assuming the leadership role at DAM, Heinrich has encouraged live interactions with artists on site and enhanced opportunities for visitor creativity throughout the museum, including presiding over notable exhibitions Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century, Wyeth: Andrew and Jamie in the Studio, Yves Saint Laurent: The Retrospective, Becoming Van Gogh, Glory of Venice: Masterworks of the Renaissance and Star Wars and the Power of Costume. His 2009 exhibition Embrace! challenged contemporary artists from around the world to create installations inspired by the unique architecture of the museum’s Frederic C. Hamilton Building. Before joining the DAM, Heinrich was at the Hamburg Kunsthalle, where during his 12-year tenure, he organized more than 50 exhibitions. Born in Frankfurt/Main, Heinrich attended the Universität Wien in Vienna, where he studied Art History, German Literature and Dramatics. He earned his MA and PhD at the Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität in Munich. A knowledgeable art historian, his publications range from contemporary public sculpture to 19th and 20th-century painters such as Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol and Daniel Richter. His 2014 publication, Nature as Muse: Inventing Impressionist Landscape, highlighted the generous bequest of 22 impressionist works to the museum by former board chairman and Chairman Emeritus, Frederic C. Hamilton.