$5-Million Art Collection Offered to Small Museum : Philanthropy: But gift from Santa Barbara man would require an expensive move by Conejo Valley facility.

A Santa Barbara art collector has promised to donate paintings, sculptures and carvings worth $5.5 million to the Conejo Valley Art Museum--but only if the museum can move to a new location, which could cost millions of dollars.

Now located in a cramped storefront in the Janss Mall, the Conejo Valley Art Museum operates as a gallery, displaying new exhibits every few months. From delicate Ukrainian painted eggs to contemporary paintings of the Grand Canyon, the museum sponsors both foreign and local artists, but has no collection of its own.

To help the museum establish permanent displays, donor Charles Craig has offered an eclectic assortment from his renowned personal collection. His gift would include contemporary abstract works--huge painted canvases and glass sculptures--as well as African carvings dating to 500 B.C.

The collection includes modern works by Stanley Boxer, an abstract artist who became known as a sculptor of paint; David Burliuk, founder of Russia’s futurist art movement; Norman Bluhm, an abstract Expressionist; Suzanne Duchamp, another abstract artist; and Max Weber, a Cubist painter. Some of the canvases are just slightly bigger than a notebook, while others are 70 feet long.

Craig’s donation also includes ancient wooden, stone and clay sculptures from Asia, Africa, South America and the Mediterranean.

The collector’s South American holdings came under scrutiny by the U.S. customs office a few years ago. Federal officials raided Craig’s home in 1989 and seized some Peruvian artifacts deemed to be Peruvian national treasures.

The customs officials also targeted six other Southern California dealers and collectors and sent 123 of the most valuable artifacts back to Peru.

The president of the museum board, Maria E. Dessornes, said she believes the artworks confiscated from Craig were later returned to him.

Craig could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The museum displayed some of Craig’s collection of drawings and watercolors in an exhibit last year, which received positive reviews.

“It’s a well-known collection, with some very important pieces,” said Paul Perrot, director of the Santa Barbara Art Museum, which has received several small donations from Craig in the past. Perrot could not speculate why Craig chose to offer so many works to a Thousand Oaks museum, saying only, “It’s an exciting moment for them.”

But Craig’s pledge comes with significant strings attached.

Before the Conejo Valley Art Museum can receive the donation, Dessornes and other board members must find a new facility big enough to house the collection.

Estimating the space requirements at 25,000 square feet, Dessornes has requested help from the Thousand Oaks City Council. Ideally, she said, a new Conejo Valley Art Museum could become a centerpiece of the Civic Arts Plaza, the $64-million performing arts and government center under construction.

“We already have the performing arts there, so to round it out, we need the visual arts,” Dessornes said.

In theory, city officials agree. They would love to see a museum at the Civic Arts Plaza site, particularly on the eight acres set aside for private development next to the massive public building under construction.

Yet in practice, they doubt they can help.

“I just can’t see where the finances might come from,” Councilman Alex Fiore said. “My initial reaction is, they’re really asking a lot.”

With an annual budget of just $50,000 a year, the museum cannot afford to lease space in the new Civic Arts Plaza, Dessornes said. The museum’s trustees would be prepared, however, to raise money for a new building, she said.

But arts experts estimated that a 25,000-square-foot facility would cost close to $10 million to build.