LACMA Dinner Marks Anniversary

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art celebrated its 25th anniversary with a weekend black-tie dinner to honor its major donors.

The Saturday gala in the dramatic four-story atrium of the museum’s Ahmanson Building was LACMA’s way of thanking “those who stepped up and made this museum a reality,” said director Rusty Powell.

Museum trustee Caroline Ahmanson was among those present at the 1965 opening, which she remembers as a vibrant time in the city’s history when both LACMA and the Music Center were under construction.

“There’s not another city in the United States that could have built a performing arts center and a visual arts center at the same time,” Ahmanson said. “And it was done . . . through a unique partnership between the private and public sectors.”

Both sectors were well represented among the 190 guests, who dined on Somerset’s grilled tenderloin of beef while the eight-piece Con Brio band played dance music.

The government officials included: County Supervisor Ed Edelman and his wife, Mari; California Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp and his wife, Andrea; Mayor Tom Bradley; and chief county administrator, Richard Dixon.

From the private sector, the dignitaries included: Julian Ganz, LACMA board of trustees chairman, and his wife Jo Ann; Frances Brody; trustee Sid and Nancy Petersen; Eli and Edythe Broad; Della Koenig; trustee Robert and Susan Maguire; and trustee Arthur and Rosalinde Gilbert.