LACMA’s Viewpoint

Congratulations on the expressions from your readers on Christopher Knight’s review of the L.A. County Museum of Art exhibition “Around Impressionism: French Paintings From the National Gallery of Art” (Saturday Letters, Aug. 21). You might note from looking back at Knight’s past reviews of LACMA exhibitions that a favorable word is a rarity, and this letter is for the purpose of addressing this as a problem.

It might seem to be enigmatic that one so well educated and gifted as Knight so consistently writes bad reviews of LACMA shows, but we believe there is a reason. It may sound strange, but Knight simply doesn’t like museums. As he has clearly expressed himself in print, museums are self-interested institutions that care not at all of the best interests of artists. We are as the Pharisees of the world of art (description my own).

I would like to suggest that someone in a decision-making capacity read Knight’s many reviews of LACMA exhibits in order to get an independent view of what we believe to be the problem. LACMA is in a most exciting phase of expanding its efforts on a multitude of fronts to better establish itself as the cultural center of the community, and we need all of the help we can get, not that we want more than an even playing field, but we would like that.

ROBERT LOOKER

LACMA trustee

El Segundo

Of Knight’s 27 reviews of LACMA shows dating from January 1996, he regards 13 as favorable, 6 as unfavorable and 8 as mixed.