Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

Coming to Los Angeles. 

Los Angeles, Autopia of the West

Hooray for Hollywood.

A View of LACMA

“A city seventy miles square but rarely seventy years deep apart from a small downtown not yet two centuries old and a few other pockets of ancientry, Los Angeles is instant architecture in an instant townscape.” So wrote the architectural historian Reyner Banham in his famous cultural, architectural and cartographical survey of the city of the Angels.[1] One can appreciate Banham’s description, especially with the first glimpse of L.A. since the impression is of a giant construct that has been thrown up in the middle of nowhere. Flying in at night, the sudden appearance of a configuration of lights, buildings, and as you drop altitude, pulsing arteries that carry the millions of the city from one end of its seventy miles span to the other is truly mind-blowing. The effect on the senses and the mind is overwhelming, and coming from a country that does not make a cult of the automobile, you suffer culture shock when entering this “autopia” where Our Lady Queen of the Angels is also the “Internal Combustion City, Surfburbia, Smogville, Aerospace City, Systems Land, the Dream factory of the Western World.”[2] So where in the middle of this urban explosion in Southern California does the story of museums begin? There are many to choose from. California boasts many fine museums: the Getty (which we shall consider next week), the Hammer Museum of Art, San Francisco Museums of Fine Art, the Pacific Asian Museum, the Norton Simon Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Huntingdon collections, and our subject today, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

The Ascent of LACMA

LACMA in 1965 from Wilshire Boulevard

An Architect's Vision for LACMA.

Japanese Pavilion, LACMA

LACMA has the distinction of being the largest museum in the Western United States, and its gate is nearly a million visitors every year. Rising up from Wilshire Boulevard against the torrid California sky, it resembles a ziggurat (a raised up building) that is imposing and yet fragile in appearance, typical of its architect William Leonard Pereira who beat Miles van der Rohe of the Bauhaus to the contract. One of the later museums in America, LACMA was established in 1961, but moved to Wilshire Bld, a key arterial road that connects east-west Los Angeles, in 1965. Prior to that LACMA formed part of the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art founded in 1910. LACMA’s holdings are universal, encompassing all cultures of the world, and numbering a staggering 100,000 art works. It was the largest, independent art museum in America to be built after the Washington National Gallery of Art, though it is more disparate and sprawling in nature than that venerable institution. During the boom years of the 1980s, a record $209 m in private donations ensured LACMA’s rise to prominence in the museum world. LACMA especially began to acquire a vast amount of modern and contemporary art, with the help of wealthy collectors like Eli Broad, so a new structure was built to house this which opened in 1986. Also in 1988, one of the most beautiful parts of the museum opened: the Pavilion for Japanese Art as well as the Cantor Sculpture Garden of Rodin bronzes. Since 2004, LACMA has been undergoing further reconstruction under the guidance of the architect Renzo Piano (who we met at Fort Worth last week) aimed to unify LACMA’s spread of buildings. Part of this initiative involved the employment of graffiti artists as well as the plan to work with Hollywood and create an Academy Museum of Moving Pictures. LACMA has a vibrant programme of exhibitions of which the most successful was the Treasures of Tutankhamum which drew 1.2 million visitors for four months in 1978.

  

Deaccessioning, Sifting and Sorting. 

Is Michael Govan going to deaccesson that piece of land art?

Deaccessioned Reynolds, St Cecilia, 2009.

One regrettable aspect of LACMA’s 2007 strategic plan was the auctioning off 42 works of art, a process known in the art world as deaccessioning. According to the Los Angeles Times, at a two day auction at Sotheby’s New York in 2005 the museum sold $2.9 million worth of Impressionist and modern art.[3] The museum also racked up $4.9 million for a Modigliani portrait. Despite criticism, LACMA has continued to “prune” their collections selling more art to buy more art. According to current director or CEO Michael Govan, the museum is occupied in the process of “sift and sort” which is designed to improve the holdings of the museum. Deaccessioning directors are conspicuous by their absence in the U.K., but in America they are more common. Although selling art to gain other art does not violate “ethical museum guidelines” in America, It is a questionable practice because these works were left by benefactors and donors to be enjoyed by local populations and visitors to the museum. To give just one example, Sir Joshua Reynolds 1775 St Cecilia was donated to the museum by the Californian magnate William Randolph Hearst in 1949 and went under the hammer in 2009.[4]  Whilst selling art to acquire other art is considered acceptable in America, examples have been increasing of museums deaccessioning for economic reasons which has been with public protest and reprimands from museum oversight organizations. LACMA does not follow this practice, but then there's  the Detroit situation…

Analysis of Old Masters at LACMA.  

Rembrandt, Portrait of Marten Looten, 1632, Oil on wood, 92.71 x 76.2 cm, Gift of J. Paul Getty

Michael Sweerts, Plague in an Ancient City, 1652-1664, Oil on canvas, 118.75 x 170.82 cm, Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation

 Carlo Saraceni, The Martyrdom of St Cecilia, 1610, Oil on canvas, 135.89 x 98.425 cm, Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation

LACMA is organized into 22 divisions including European Painting, which amounts to about 386 paintings. It is the 17^th century section that contains the most artworks (135), followed by art from 1751-1800 (rococo and neo-classical) numbering 58. If we drill down into the 17^th century further, we discover that the museum has a lot of Dutch and Flemish painting or for convenience “Netherlandish” with the Italian baroque and French art evenly matched, though there is hardly any Spanish painting. Very important northern painters like Rubens, Rembrandt and Hals have 2 or more works each; and with the Italians there are 1 or more pieces by baroque artists like Guido Reni (2) Salvator Rosa (3), Carlo Saraceni (1) and Pietro da Cortona (1). Mining the “Netherlandish” seams even further, we see that it is quite a comprehensive survey of Dutch art though the absence of Vermeer undoubtedly weakens that claim. Of the 3 Rembrandts[5], all are of good quality, the Honthorst ChristMocked is a fine specimen of Utrecht painting; whilist there are lots of “minor” Netherlandish painters represented like Avercamp, Salomon de Bray and Sweerts. With the French school, there is a Claude, but no Poussin, though there is a strong echo of the master’s Plague at Ashdod (Louvre) in Sweert’s Plaguein an Ancient City. The “international baroque” is in evidence with 2 SimonVouet modellos, not the best advertisements of his talents, though Valentin’s Concert Party is good, Philippe de Champaigne’s St Augustine is very good, and La Tour’s Magdalene with the Smoking Flame most excellent.  Out of the cluster of Spanish and Italian baroque pictures the highlight for me would be the Venetian, Carlo Saraceni’s Martyrdom of St Cecilia followed by Guido’s Portrait of Cardinal Roberto Ubaldino, Papal Legate to Bologna.  The Saraceni along with the La Tour, Honthorst and Valentin were lent to an important exhibition staged in New South Wales on the influence of Caravaggio several years ago.[6]

 

Very brief note on LACMA Renaissance Art.

Jacopo Bellini, Madonna and Child, 1465, Oil on panel, 69.22 x 46.99 cm, Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation

 Fra Bartolomeo, Holy Family, 1497, Oil on canvas, 151.13 x 90.81 cm, Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation

Titian, Portrait of Giacomo Dolfin, Oil on canvas, 104.9 x 91 cm, Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation

The museum has about 31 paintings from the 13^th to 15^th centuries, predominantly Italian “primitives” and altarpieces. The most well-known painters here are the Florentine artist Fra Bartolommeo (a handsome Raphaelesque Holy Family), the Venetian painters Cima da Conegliano and Jacopo Bellini (both Holy Families), and Titian, Portrait of Portrait of Giacomo Dolfin. The rest consist of works by unknown masters, or samples by lesser known artists from Italy. 

Notes on American Art at LACMA. 

Benjamin West, Thetis Bringing the Armour to Achilles, 1804, Oil on canvas, 68.6 x 50.8 cm, Gift from the family of Bernice West Beyers

William Merrit Chase, Pablo de Sarasate: Portrait of a Violinist, c. 1875, Oil on canvas, 57.15 x 47.78 cm, Mary D. Keeler Bequest

Daniel Huntingdon, Philosophy and Christian Art, 1868, Oil on canvas, 102.55 x 127.95 cm, Gift of Will Richeson

The American school of painting is impressively covered with about 346 works in this area of the collection. The standard is very high with artists ranging from the neo-classical Benjamin West to modern American artists working in the styles of Cubism, surrealism and abstraction. The bulk of American paintings fall into the time range of 1850-1930.  Surveying this group shows pictures from lots of different genres, thus creating a perspective on the world of nineteenth-century America, as well as betraying the influence of European old masters on American art. Recommended here are Genre Scene by the Californian artist Jules Pages; William Merritt Chase frank and moving portrait of the violinist Pablo da Sarasate; Daniel Huntington’s beautiful updating of Titian in his Philosophy and Christian Art; Robert Phillip’s brooding In a PensiveMood which also shows his skill as a still life painter; John Singer Sargeant’s Portrait of Mme. FrançoisBuloz (Christine Blaze) which has an immediacy about it; a table-top still life by Henry Lee Mcfee and an elegantly poised Japanese array of objects from Elihu Vedder.

Slides. 

1)      Los Angeles from the air.

2)      LACMA on Wiltshire Boulevard, Los Angeles.

3)      LACMA and Wiltshire Bld in 1965.

4)      LA with view of Hollywood sign.

5)      Downtown LA.

6)      View of Japanese Pavilion, LACMA.

7)      Peter Paul Rubens, The Israelites Gathering Manna in the Desert, c. 1626-27,  Oil on wood, 64.77 x 53.34 cm, Frances and Armand Hammer Purchase Fund (M.69.20)

8)      Rembrandt, The Raising of Lazarus, 1630-32, Oil on wood, 96.36 x 81.28 cm, Gift of H. F. Ahmanson and Company, in memory of Howard F. Ahmanson (M.72.67.2)

9)      Rembrandt, Portrait of Marten Looten, 1632, Oil on wood, 92.71 x 76.2 cm, Gift of J. Paul Getty (53.50.3)

10)   Gerrit van Honthorst, The Mocking of Christ, 1617-20, Oil on canvas, 146.05 x 207.01 cm, Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation (AC1999.92.1)

11)   Michael Sweerts, Plague in an Ancient City, 1652-1664, Oil on canvas, 118.75 x 170.82 cm, Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation (AC1997.10.1)

12)   Salomon de Bray, Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, 1652, Oil on canvas, 152.72 x 124.78 cm, Purchased with funds provided by the Jones Foundation, the Joseph B. Gould Foundation, Fred Maxwell, and an anonymous gift in memory of Dr. Charles Henry Strub by exchange (M.2003.4).

13)   Laurent de la Hyre, Assumption of the Virgin, 1653-55, Oil on canvas, 74.93 x 52.71 cm, The Ciechanowiecki Collection, Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation (M.2000.179.3)

14)   Georges de La Tour, The Magdalene with the Smoking Flame, c. 1638-40, Oil on canvas, 117 x 91.76 cm, Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation (M.77.73)

15)   Phillipe de Champaigne, St Augustine, 1645-50, Oil on canvas, 78.7 x 62.2 cm, Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation (M.88.177).

16)   Carlo Saraceni, The Martyrdom of St Cecilia, 1610, Oil on canvas, 135.89 x 98.425 cm, Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation (AC1996.37.1)

17)   Guido Reni, Portrait of Cardinal Roberto Ubaldino, Papal Legate to Bologna, 1627, Oil on canvas, 196.85 x 149.23 cm, Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation (M.83.109)

18)   Salvator Rosa (and Studio), Odysseus and Nausicca, oil on canvas, 190.5 x 158.75 x 8.89 cm, William Randolph Hearst Collection (49.17.4)

19)   Jacopo Bellini, Madonna and Child, 1465, Oil on panel, 69.22 x 46.99 cm, Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation (M.85.223).

20)   Cima da Conegliano, Madonna and Child in a Landscape, c. 1496-99, Oil on panel, 73.03 x 59.37 cm, Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation in memory of Robert H. Ahmanson (M.2008.9)

21)   Fra Bartolomeo, Holy Family, 1497, Oil on canvas, 151.13 x 90.81 cm, Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation (M.73.83)

22)   Titian, Portrait of Giacomo Dolfin, Oil on canvas, 104.9 x 91 cm, Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation (M.81.24).

23)   Benjamin West, Thetis Bringing the Armour to Achilles, 1804, Oil on canvas, 68.6 x 50.8 cm, Gift from the family of Bernice West Beyers (M.88.182)

24)   Jules Pages, Genre Scene, French Woman in Kitchen Scene, Oil on canvas, 88.9 x 72.39 cm, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Christian Title (M.91.309.3)

25)   William Merritt Chase, Pablo de Sarasate: Portrait of a Violinist, c. 1875, Oil on canvas, 57.15 x 47.78 cm, Mary D. Keeler Bequest (40.12.9).

26)   Daniel Huntington, Philosophy and Christian Art, 1868, Oil on canvas, 102.55 x 127.95 cm, Gift of Will Richeson (M.69.48)

27)   Engraving of Philosophy and Christian Art.

28)   Robert Phillipp, In a Pensive Mood, before 1935, Oil on canvas, 86.84 x 101.92 cm, Gift of Terry De Lapp in Memory of Yrma Marcus (M.81.197)

29)   John Singer Sargeant, Mme. François Buloz (Christine Blaze), 1879, Oil on canvas, 54.77 x 46.67 cm, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harry F. Sinclair and Mary D. Keeler Bequest (M.71.70).

30)   Henry Le McFee, Still Life with Carafe, 1931, Oil on canvas, 81.92 x 76.68 cm, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David N. Allison in memory of Mr. and Mrs. David C. Allison (M.84.196)

31)   Elihu Vedder, Japanese Still Life, 1879, Oil on canvas, 54.5 x 88.4 cm, Gift of the American Art Council (M.74.11).

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[1] Reyner Banham, Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies (University of California Press, 1971), 3. Click here to view a film about Banham and L.A.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Los Angeles Times, LACMA art brings in $13 million, 4/11/2005. link

[4] AS reported by the LA Times. link

[5] Gary Schwartz in Rembrandt, His Life, His Paintings, (Penguin, 1985) lists a fourth, “Portrait of a Young Woman” which was on loan, 379.

[6] John Spike and others, Darkness and Light: Caravaggio and his Followers, New South Wales, 2003-4, nos 29, 32, 45, 51.