With Secession in Mind, L.A. Seeks Art Collection Appraisal

The city ordered an inventory Tuesday of its vast and scattered art collection, an accounting that would assist a study looking into dividing city assets as part of the San Fernando Valley and Harbor secession proposals.

The Los Angeles City Council directed the Cultural Affairs Department to report on the contents and condition of the art collection in 60 days, and to develop a plan for conducting a more detailed appraisal of the more than 2,000 works of art.

Councilwoman Laura Chick proposed the inventory after learning, upon asking the department for art for her office, that many of the gifts received by the city over the years are unaccounted for or are in storage.

“I found out that stuck away in a dark warehouse, piled up in a corner, are some pretty amazing pieces of art that are available to any of us who have places to display them where the public can see,” Chick told her colleagues. “To me a public benefit, an art collection, should be displayed, should be seen by the public, and that is not happening today.”

The inventory would also help those studying Valley and Harbor secession determine what assets need to be divided, said Councilman Hal Bernson, who serves on the Local Agency Formation Commission studying secession proposals.

“If it [secession] happens, it will be like a divorce,” Bernson said. “There is an obligation on the part of the city to evaluate all of its assets.”

From a $10,000 kimono given to Los Angeles by a sister city in Japan to a $400,000 Italian sculpture in the fountain of the Department of Water and Power headquarters, the city has, over the years, received large numbers of artistic gifts that have become the collective property of the people of Los Angeles.

Roella Hsieh Louie, the arts manager who oversees the collection, said a rough count has found that there are between 2,000 and 3,000 such artistic gifts in various locations throughout the city.

Many of the items, including portraits of all the mayors and a hooked rug portraying the city flag, may have more sentimental value than monetary value.

Some are valuable artworks, including plein-air paintings by Edgar Payne and Kathryn Leighton. The total collection could be worth millions, but an exact value would not be available without an appraisal, Louie said.

It will cost at least $200,000 to determine the value of the more than 2,000 works of art, much of it in city buildings.

“Because of secession, this is something we have to do,” Louie said. Less than 10% of the city’s artwork is in storage.

The council’s action Tuesday also could simplify the division of the city art collection. Chick’s motion also asks the Cultural Affairs Department to recommend whether some of the artworks not being displayed should be sold or donated.

Whatever the outcome, a complete inventory and appraisal of the artwork will assist the private consultant hired to report on all city assets, said Craig Hoshijima, a spokesman for the firm.

Louie said putting an inventory together may be one thing, but deciding how to parcel out the collection to the Valley, Harbor and the rest of Los Angeles would be more difficult.

“It is not as easy as dividing up chairs or garbage pickup services,” she said.