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LACMA ADDS MORE THAN 1,400 WORKS OF ART
TO PERMANENT COLLECTION IN 2002

New Works Represent More Than 3,000 Years of Art History and
Are Valued at More Than $17 Million
 

LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) today announced the addition of more than fourteen hundred works of art to the museum’s permanent collection in the year 2002. The works represent 3,000 years of art history and include extraordinary masterpieces from regions throughout the world.

“It has been an exciting year for acquisitions with important works of art added to every curatorial department within the museum,” said LACMA President and Director Andrea L. Rich. “Our strong commitment to expand and deepen LACMA’s permanent collection on a continuing basis promises to enhance the public’s access to great art for generations to come.”

LACMA’s mission encompasses the collection, conservation, and interpretation of art that represents the highest levels of achievement from all historical periods of culture. The 2002 acquisitions add significantly to the collections of the museum’s four curatorial centers, representing diverse regions and disciplines.

Center for European Art

The European Painting and Sculpture department added several new masterpieces to its department, including The Ecstasy of Saint Francis by Cavaliere Baglione. Created around 1603, the intensely emotional work ranks among the artist’s most powerful compositions. The work was acquired with funds from The Ahmanson Foundation, which has, over the years, provided funds for many extraordinary works for LACMA’s collection.

The Prints and Drawings department acquired Study of a Nymph from the Fountain of the Innocents, after Jean Goujon (c. 1802–1806) by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, a masterful study of a nymph made when Ingres was in his early twenties. The drawing embodies the pure line and precise contour that defined Ingres’ style throughout his career. An 18th-century tray from the Sevres Porcelain Manufactory in France was added to the Decorative Arts department. Painted by Jean-Louis Morin, one of the most revered painters at Sevres, the tray is neoclassical in form with sumptuous decoration. The object was donated by Mrs. Murray Braunfeld.

Center for the Art of the Americas

Mount Monadnock (c. 1918) by Abbot Handerson Thayer was added to the Center for American Art. This work belongs to the final group of large-scale landscapes of Mount Monadnock that Thayer completed before his death. It represents a crucial link between modernist abstract painting and 19th-century landscape painting.

Joaquin Torres-García’s Constructivo con linea blanca (Construction with White Line) of 1938 was added to LACMA’s Latin American Art collection. Created after Torres-García’s 1934 return to Uruguay, this painting is a superb example of his mature style, combining geometric abstraction with Indoamerican motifs.

Max Palevsky donated Weed Vase, one of very few metal works designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, to LACMA’s Decorative Arts department. The copper vase dated 1898 will be presented in LACMA’s upcoming exhibition on arts and crafts in 2004.

Center for Asian Art

The Chinese and Korean department acquired Horse, a molded earthenware funerary sculpture (dated 206-100 B.C.) from the early Western Han dynasty in China. This work shares stylistic and functional characteristics with the larger, life-size terra cotta warriors created for the first Emperor.

For the Japanese Art department, LACMA received the 13th-century sculpture Bishamonten (c. 1250). Bishamonten is the most powerful of the four kings who stand guard at the four cardinal points of the universe. This piece is from the height of the Kamakura period (1185–1333), during which Japanese sculpture became known for its vivid realism. The furrowed brows and strong, confident visage of this piece contrast with the suffering, subdued expression on the face of the vanquished demon beneath his feet. A masterpiece of Japanese sculpture, it was one of seven important works purchased for the museum by LACMA’s 2002 Collectors’ Committee.

LACMA’s Costume Council purchased a Japanese, 18th-century costume for Noh drama, Karaori with Snow-Laden Camellias and Genji Clouds for the Costume and Textiles department. A highlight of LACMA’s recent exhibition Miracles and Mischief: Noh and Kyogen Theater in Japan, this exquisite garment, made of red silk twill weave with silk and gold leaf paper supplementary weft patterning, was worn by male actors playing young women.

The museum also acquired the world-renowned Madina Collection of Islamic Art in 2002. The highly sought after collection contains works of various media dating from the late 7th through 19th centuries and effectively doubled the size of LACMA’s already eminent Islamic holdings. The acquisition of the Madina Collection was made possible in large part by a generous gift from long-time LACMA benefactor and Trustee Camilla Chandler Frost.

Center for Modern and Contemporary Art

Man Off Balance (2002) by Stephan Balkenhol was purchased for the museum with funds provided by the Buddy Taub Foundation, Jill and Dennis Roach, Directors. An excellent example from one of Germany’s most prominent artists, this work complements LACMA’s collection of modern and contemporary German art. Also purchased with funds from the Buddy Taub Foundation is a new work by British artist Sarah Lucas, 20 Flags (2002), made of cigarettes, hammer, and wire.

Robert Smithson’s 1966 Prosposal for a Monument at Anartica [sic] was acquired for the Photography department. This seminal work of the artist’s early career is the latest purchase with funds from the Ralph M. Parsons Discretionary Fund, which has since 1983 provided funding for numerous photographs for LACMA’s permanent collection.


About LACMA
Established as an independent institution in 1965, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art has assembled a permanent collection that includes approximately 100,000 works of art spanning the history of art from ancient times to the present, making it the premier encyclopedic visual arts museum in the western United States. Located in the heart of one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world, the museum uses its collection and resources to provide a variety of educational, aesthetic, intellectual, and cultural experiences for the people who live in, work in, and visit Los Angeles. LACMA offers an outstanding schedule of special exhibitions, as well as lectures, classes, family activities, film programs and world-class musical events.



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