LACMA

Ahmanson, Plaza Level: Artworks on view

LACMA’s modern art collection features strong holdings in German Expressionism and important paintings and sculptures by Picasso, Matisse, Schwitters, and Magritte. Important additions have included David Bright’s bequest of 23 paintings by Picasso, Léger, Miró, Kupka, and others; Robert Halff’s donation of 35 works, including remarkable examples by Miró, Lichtenstein, and Johns; and the recent acquisition of the Janice and Henri Lazarof Collection, with works by Picasso, Giacometti, Brancusi, Leger, Matisse, Braque, Moore, and Hepworth.

Henri Matisse

Stephanie Barron on Billy Al Bengston

February 8, 2010

As you may have heard, last week we launched the Reading Room, an online space devoted to the electronic publication of the museum’s catalogues. Our first selection of books focuses on the L.A. art scene of the 50s, 60s, and 70s—a real heyday for L.A. artists, galleries, and art institutions. We asked Senior Curator of Modern Art Stephanie Barron to talk about the Billy Al Bengston exhibition from 1969. As Stephanie notes, both the catalogue and the installation were designed by friends of Bengston’s. And they’re not just any old friends…

Reflections on the Decade: Transforming the Modern Art Collection

January 1, 2010

In the field of modern art, with the skyrocketing prices in the art market of the last twenty years, it has become almost impossible for museums to make major purchases, causing us to rely upon the generosity of collectors who donate works to the museum. The acquisition of the Henri and Janice Lazarof Collection truly transformed our collection of modern art. In one magnificent gesture by these Los Angeles collectors, we were able to add 130 paintings, sculptures and works on paper—more than twenty works by Picasso, a group of sculptures by Giacometti, works by the Bauhaus artists Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky, and remarkable examples by Brancusi, Braque, Matisse, Léger, Dufy, Degas, and many others.

The Illegal Operation

February 4, 2009