The deal of the art

Eli Broad, L.A.’s most influential philanthropist, has been taking a beating lately. Critics have sniffed at his new cultural centerpiece -- the Broad Contemporary Art Museum, an addition to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art -- and questioned the quality of his collection. Most stingingly, some have accused him of stiffing LACMA by first offering the museum his treasures, then pulling them back. We’ll leave the art criticism to others, but on the question of head-faking LACMA, we find Broad not guilty.

The source of the charge is Broad’s unusual arrangement with LACMA. Rather than bequeath his extensive modern art collection to the museum, he is opting to hold onto the pieces and merely lend them through his foundation. Although LACMA will always have first choice of the works, Broad says, he will keep the bulk to loan to other institutions.

That strikes some traditionalists as a raw deal, but it relieves LACMA of the cost of storing and insuring much of Broad’s collection while also allowing the museum to display what it wants. It broadens the universe of those who can enjoy the works without stripping LACMA of anything of substance. LACMA Director Michael Govan is satisfied, and if it’s OK with him, it’s OK with us.

In a recent visit to The Times with Govan, Broad reaffirmed his devotion to LACMA and reiterated his determination to see it anchor the region’s visual arts. But that’s only part of his master plan. Broad envisions Los Angeles as a major arts capital, and though his plans sometimes seem far-fetched, few Angelenos have done more to create a community bound by music, theater and visual arts.

LACMA has long struggled to rise above its mishmash of buildings and installations. Its new addition marks one more step in that continuing campaign, one that is promising if not always successful. With Govan’s imagination and Broad’s generosity -- whether in the form of loans or gifts -- it is solidifying a place at the center of California’s high culture.