The fine art of giving

Re “LACMA’s loss that isn’t,” Opinion, Jan. 14

How befitting that the sole voice in support of Eli Broad’s peculiar definition of philanthropy (give nothing, keep everything) should be that of Tom Hoving. Since his retirement, Hoving has played the role of the teller of lunatic tales of museum acquisitions, frauds and deceit. Now he tells the story from the perpetrator’s side.

We New Yorkers take pride in the great buildings and collections that have been given over the years to our city, and cannot help feeling sorry for the Angelenos who contributed so much to Broad’s wealth and are getting such a miserly return.

Hoving ought to be invited to the opening of Broad’s building at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art next month. As keynote speaker, he would save the director, Michael Govan, from having to look for excuses and apologies for the sorry situation Broad has put the museum in.

George Bacon

New York

As a former Angeleno, I am aware of the Broads’ contributions to the city’s cultural richness. However, art is money, and it costs a lot to acquire serious works. The suggested catalog, however, need not identify the price of a particular work. Part of the gratitude I feel toward the donors when I visit a particular museum is based on my awareness that the donor may have spent millions of dollars for a work of art that I get to appreciate for a membership fee.

Jeff Meyer

Clearwater, Fla.

The Broad family should carefully consider the fact that keeping the collection, rather than donating it to LACMA or the Museum of Contemporary Art, takes the U.S. further down a path already traveled by Third World countries. I have done art research in several Latin American countries where many major collections remain outside the circuit of public museums. The resulting lack of centralization makes telling the story of art history much more difficult. When artists’ works are scattered among public and private collections, viewers and researchers alike are inconvenienced, and for what reason? Often only for vanity.

Patrick Frank

Monterey