Successful Merger Created Museum
* I write to correct your inaccurate reference to the “failed merger” between the Newport Harbor Art Museum and the Laguna Art Museum.
After favorable votes by the boards of trustees of both museums, the attorney general of California permitted Newport Harbor Art Museum to merge with Laguna Art Museum.
This merger was consummated in July 1996 and the newly combined organization was renamed the Orange County Museum of Art.
All members of both boards of trustees, all staff members, all collections, all endowments and all assets were merged into one entity, and this merger has never been undone. OCMA continues the legacies of both predecessor institutions.
Laguna Heritage [has] changed its name to Laguna Art Museum, leading some to think that the old Laguna Art Museum had separated from OCMA and returned to its status before the merger. This is not the case.
The new Laguna Art Museum was founded in 1997, and operates independently with its own board of trustees and its own staff.
JAMES V. SELNA
Vice Chairman
Board of Trustees
Orange County Museum of Art
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