Van Gogh Show Extended 6 Weeks, Through May 16

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art announced Wednesday that it will extend the run of “Van Gogh’s Van Goghs: Masterpieces From the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam” by six weeks. The show, scheduled to open Jan. 17, will now run through May 16.

Museum officials, who had predicted attendance of just under 600,000 visitors during the original 11-week run, now say the extra time could boost attendance to 900,000. The museum’s most popular offering to date, 1978’s King Tut exhibit, drew 1.2 million patrons.

As of Wednesday morning, 216,653 tickets had been sold through an exclusive arrangement with Ticketmaster, according to LACMA spokesman Keith McKeown. Tickets, which have been on sale since Nov. 15, will also be available at the LACMA box office beginning Sunday.

The exhibition consists of 70 paintings and is made possible by the temporary closure of the Amsterdam museum while it undergoes a seven-month renovation and construction of a new wing. A LACMA spokesman said that renovation is being completed on schedule, but having the Van Goghs remain in the U.S. for additional weeks provides for more flexibility. The show closed Jan. 3 at Washington, D.C.’s, National Gallery, where, despite federally mandated free admission, demand for tickets led to a scalping frenzy with prices reaching as high as $125 per ticket.

LACMA has already achieved some notoriety by charging $20 for weekend tickets, which appears to be the highest price ever charged for a museum exhibition in the U.S. Purchasing tickets through Ticketmaster adds a $3.50 service charge and a $3 mailing fee per order. Weekday tickets are $17.50, with lower rates available for students and seniors. Regular museum admission is $7. The exhibition requires a special timed and dated ticket.

At LACMA, the exhibition will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week, at LACMA West, the museum’s renovation of the former May Co. store at Fairfax Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster, (213) 462-2787.