SAN DIEGO COUNTY : La Jolla Museum, UCSD Get 1st Installment on Russell Grants

The La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art and UCSD’s Department of Visual Arts have received the first gifts from a foundation established by the late patron Elizabeth Russell.

The gifts consist of $150,000 to the university and $100,000 to the museum. Museum director Hugh Davies said the museum will use the money to purchase three works of art--two by California artist James Turrell (“Stuck Blue” and “Stuck Red”), and one by British artist Richard Long. The Long work, “Baja California Circle,” was part of the artist’s recent exhibition at the museum.

The university will use $100,000 to commission an original work by New York artist Jenny Holzer, best known for her use of language as art on electronic billboards. The UCSD commission will consist of Holzer’s most recent medium--texts that are inscribed on tables and benches, which will be installed in UCSD’s Muir Commons area.

The balance of the university’s gift will be used to endow a permanent studio for visiting artists who will be in residence at the two institutions, another aspect of the joint venture.

The first artist selected for a residency is Ann Hamilton, who will visit in the spring. Her residency will include an installation at the museum.

“This is the first disbursement that the foundation has given since Betty Russell died this year,” foundation president Patrick Ledden said this week. “These gifts are a fitting tribute to her spirit, foresight and drive.”

Although the foundation was established in 1980, the terms stipulated it would not make gifts until after Russell’s death, which occurred in January. Ledden estimated the foundation’s assets at more than $1 million and said future annual gifts would range from $50,000 to $100,000.

The foundation was established to strengthen the bonds between the two institutions through the visual arts.

Originally from the Northwest, Russell settled in San Diego with her first husband, Samuel Moore, after World War II. She and Moore divorced, and she married La Jolla resident Lloyd Russell. The Russells also had a home in Aspen, where she was a supporter of the Aspen Music Festival.

Russell was a museum trustee from 1960-63. In 1965, she founded the museum’s volunteer docent program. Because of her association with the museum and the university, where she took art history classes, Russell established a fund in the 1970s to support activities of the two institutions.