A LACMA reply

As chief curator of European art at LACMA, I read Christopher Reynolds’ article “Which Way, LACMA?” (June 12) with interest. One point about the museum’s recent record in acquisitions should be clarified.

Mr. Reynolds states that “acquisition spending has sputtered.... The museum has averaged $6.3 million yearly on art acquisitions over the last two years ... after averaging $11.3 million over the previous five.” The wording suggests that this is what the museum spent on purchases, but the Carter collection of Dutch paintings, which Mr. Reynolds cites, was not bought by LACMA. Instead, it was a gift.

The farsightedness of founding trustee Edward C. Carter, and the admirable generosity of his widow, Hannah, and their family, brought these masterpieces to LACMA for the benefit of the public and specialists alike.

Similarly, I am not sure Mr. Reynolds took into consideration in his accounting the continuing support of acquisitions of European art provided over the years by the Ahmanson Foundation. Had he done so, he would have certainly discovered that the average spending over the “previous five” years he is referring to far exceeded the $11.3 million he is mentioning.

J. Patrice Marandel

Los Angeles

Marandel is the chief curator of the Center for European Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.