Newport Decides Not to Consider Museum Merger : Art: Decision comes after discussions about forming a closer working relationship with the Laguna institution.

Board members of the Newport Harbor Art Museum notified officials at the Laguna Art Museum on Friday that, for various reasons, “it is not an appropriate time to consider a merger of the two museums.”

The statement came after recent discussions at the two facilities about forming a closer working relationship, including the possibility of a merger.

Charles Desmarais, director of the Laguna museum, said talk of a merger was strictly speculative to begin with and that the Newport museum’s stance “makes a lot of sense.”

The Laguna museum in September established a committee to explore the possibility of a merger with the Newport museum, which later formed a similar committee. The committees have not met jointly, both museums reported.

After the Newport museum’s merger committee discussed the issue and conferred with the museum board’s executive committee, the entire board on Thursday approved a “statement regarding Laguna Art Museum merger inquiry.”

That statement, later delivered to Laguna museum officials, said: “In view of the activities under way at the (Newport) museum, including the search for a new director, the resolution of the building program for the new museum building, and the initiation of the Museum Building and Endowment Fund Campaign, it is not an appropriate time to consider a merger of the two museums.”

The search for a replacement for director Kevin E. Consey was started when he announced his resignation in August to take a similar post at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art. The Newport museum also is refining design details for a new facility and has raised about $10 million toward a $50-million drive for the new building and an endowment, a museum spokeswoman said.

Newport trustee Jay M. Young, merger committee chairman, said, “We wish to remain good neighbors with the Laguna Art Museum and continue to cooperate with the museum and other museums in Orange County.”

Desmarais said Laguna officials established a merger committee in reaction to suggestions by some Laguna museum members for a closer cooperation with Newport Harbor.

“It is obvious they feel the need to focus on their capital campaign and their (search for a new) director, and that seems to be a perfectly resonable approach to museum business,” he said.

He added: “We already do cooperate better than we have in the past and that’s going to be a natural continuing progression. When I say cooperation, I am certainly not talking about a merger, but there are a lot of ways we can work together.”

As an example, Desmarais noted that two Newport museum staff members are on the Committee for an Orange County Arts Council that he chairs. The ad-hoc group of local arts community members is working to establish a countywide arts service organization.