Pewter king Ricker files bankruptcy

FORT COLLINS – Michael Ricker, once among the highest-flying artists in Northern Colorado, has filed for personal bankruptcy listing more than $1.6 million in debts, mainly to two patrons and benefactors who loaned him money.

Ricker’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy, filed Oct. 11 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s Colorado Division in Denver, shows income solely from monthly Social Security payments, assets consisting of a few personal possessions, and the loss of all other property to foreclosure.

“It’s a combination of things that made it all go south,´ said one creditor, a Fort Collins woman who is listed as having loaned Ricker $677,521 in December 2004 to help keep his Estes Park-based sculpture gallery business afloat. Although she is named in the filing, she asked not to be identified in connection with this story.

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“It’s the economy. People no longer have the income it takes to support a business like Michael’s,” she said.

Ricker’s pewter sculptures made him an Estes Park icon, with a museum and gallery on Elkhorn Avenue that showcased his work. He lost the gallery in a $500,000 foreclosure in November 2004.

Ricker, 65, now lives in a rented Fort Collins home, having moved from Estes Park several years ago. His Fort Collins lawyer, Greg Bell, said he could not discuss the case without Ricker’s authorization, and Ricker himself could not be reached for comment.

Ricker established his Estes Park studio and gallery in 1965, and his career reached its zenith in the middle 1970s when he created “Park City,” a fictional town sculpted in pewter and depicting turn-of-the-century American life.

He presented the first piece, depicting a small-town park, to then-President Gerald Ford during the nation’s bicentennial celebration in 1976. Ford encouraged him to complete the work, a 10-year process that culminated when Ricker gave Ford the “key” to the city during a gala celebration in Denver.

During the next two decades, Ricker developed a network of galleries stretching from Florida to California showcasing his work.

In addition to the Fort Collins woman, a collector of his work who described her loan as “a business partnership,” the court document lists Aurora automobile dealer Mike Naughton, owner of Mike Naughton Ford, as having loaned Ricker $300,000 in December 2003.

Naughton could not be reached for comment. Ricker’s Fort Collins benefactor said she and Naughton were acquainted. “We tried hard to help Michael out of this,” she said.

Together, the two loaned the artist $977,521.

His bankruptcy filing, in addition to the $1.6 million owed creditors, makes note of a $90,000 obligation to the Internal Revenue Service for federal taxes owed.

Court papers show Ricker having no monetary interest in four businesses formed under his name. They are Colorado Castings LLC, Museum Gallery LLC, Ram Inc., and Ricker-Bartlet Inc., all engaged in the production and display of pewter castings.

Ricker’s statement of financial affairs, a part of the bankruptcy filing, shows he owns no real estate and that his sole income is $1,298 he receives in monthly Social Security payments. He also lists $4,403 in assets, including a $1,548 security deposit on his rented Fort Collins home.

According to Larimer County property records, Ricker’s former Estes Park gallery museum building, 167 E. Elkhorn Ave., is now owned by corporate entity McDeal LLP. McDeal LLP has the same Aurora address as Mike Naughton Ford.

During his 40-year career, Ricker has cast more than 4,000 pewter sculptures, most of them small figurines that collectors buy for prices ranging from $20 to several hundred dollars.

The vast majority of the more than 100 creditors and claimants listed in the filing are owed relatively small amounts, ranging from $25 to $500, and are scattered throughout the United States.