$1-MILLION GIFT BEGINS ART MUSEUM FUND DRIVE

A $1-million gift to the San Diego Museum of Art by local philanthropists John and Sally Thornton has launched a 2-year, $8-million campaign to double the museum’s current endowment to $16 million. This is the museum’s first endowment campaign, according to museum director Steven Brezzo.

“The museum’s board of trustees and other significant San Diego patrons have already pledged $4,144,900,” Brezzo said at a Thursday morning press conference to announce the ambitious campaign.

Brezzo said an increased endowment is necessary because of mounting museum expenses and decreasing government support. “Only a few years ago,” he noted, “city and county contributions made up 25% of our budget. This year, only 15% of the museum’s $3-million annual budget came from those sources.” The museum’s current endowment provides 6% of the operating budget.

A video of Brezzo narrating a museum travelogue, one of the campaign’s promotional tools, was screened at the conference. In his pitch, Brezzo appeared to allude to the woes of the city’s symphony orchestra when he said that a museum budget crunch could not be solved by cutting short a season.

Brezzo said five areas would benefit from the museum’s increased endowment: acquisitions, conservation, education, visiting exhibits and property management. No building funds are being sought at this time. Museum board president Gordon Luce, head of San Diego-based Great American First Savings Bank, will chair the endowment campaign.

Although the San Diego museum is one of the top 25 art museums in the country--based on the size of its collection, attendance and membership--it has one of the lowest endowments.

“This campaign will put us on an equal footing with comparable museums in Houston, Denver and Cincinnati,” said museum spokeswoman Barbara Fleming. The San Diego museum, however, has the largest endowment of San Diego arts organizations.

The $1-million donation comes from the John M. and Sally B. Thornton Foundation, formed in in 1982. The foundation underwrote the exhibit “American Masters: the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection,” which appeared at the museum in November. Across the street from the art museum, the San Diego Historical Society also benefited from that foundation. The Thornton Multimedia Theater is being constructed as part of the historical society’s new museum complex in the Casa de Balboa.

According to Brezzo, a space within the museum will be named for the Thorntons. Sally Thornton is a member of the museum’s board of trustees. John Thornton, chairman of the board of Wavetek Corp. and vice chairman of Micom Systems Inc., has also served on the museum board of trustees.