Über-collector Eli Broad to build new Contemporary Arts Museum bearing his name in Beverly Hills

November 24th, 2008


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Eli Broad, Billionaire Philanthropist and Art Collector, via LA Times

In an apparent reversal from his statements earlier this year, billionaire philanthropist and patron of the arts Eli Broad is now opening a 25,000 square foot museum in the new headquarters for his eponymous foundation, the Broad Art Foundation.  This news comes just nine months after the Los Angeles County Museum of Art opened the 60,000 square foot Broad Contemporary Art Museum, built through $56 million dollars provided by Mr. Broad, proprietor of a 2,000 piece collection of post-war art.  Jean Michel Basquiat, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, and Damien Hirst figure among the many seminal artists whose works are owned by the foundation.  Eli Broad had been outspokenly calling the art market bubble for some time now and recent auction performance in the past month or two has proved him to be somewhat prescient.   Broad has felt that the market is returning to normal levels perhaps as he has recently been reinvigorating purchasing activity.  Mr. Broad’s most recent acquisitions include: Bantam by Robert Rauschenberg ($2.6 million), Wishing Well by Jeff Koons ($2.2 million), and Desire by Ed Ruscha ($2.4 million), all acquired at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale on November 11th (as covered by AO here).

The new facility would include the proposed museum, administrative headquarters for his organization, and storage for the pieces of his collection that aren’t on loan to museums. “We want a new headquarters, a space to have works that are not on loan to others at any given moment available for study by curators and scholars,” the foundation’s spokeswoman said in an article published in Bloomberg.  Broad has expressed that he would like the new headquarters to open within 3 years.

Gensler has been designated as the architect and consultant on the project, with a site in Beverly Hills and two other undisclosed locations under review. The Beverly Hills location would be at the corner of Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards, a few miles away from the LACMA museum that bears his name. Some observers question whether the new museum would introduce too much competition to existing contemporary arts venues, especially the Broad Museum at LACMA and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), where Broad was a founding trustee. MoCA especially is in a very fragile position: the museum is in a severe fiscal crisis after suffering huge losses to its endowment in the recent market downturn.  Broad has announced a plan to provide $30 million to MoCA over several years to help keep the museum from closing.

The Broad Art Foundation
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Los Angeles County Museum of Art
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Eli Broad Plans Another Art Space
[New York Times]
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Broad Decides to Build His Own Museum [New York Times]
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Billionaire Broad Proposes Beverly Hills Art Museum [Bloomberg]
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Eli Broad’s Museum to Keep Art Out of `Basement’ [Bloomberg]
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Eli Broad’s art collection needs a home, so he’ll build it [LA Times]
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MOCA faces serious financial problems [LA Times]
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Saving MOCA: Eli Broad offers $30 million to MOCA in Op-Ed [LA Times]
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Eli Broad to Build Museum in Los Angeles
[ArtForum]


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Untitled (2003) by Cy Twombly, via Broad Art Foundation


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Recently purchased by Eli Broad, Wishing Well by Jeff Koons, via Sotheby’s


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Recently purchased by Eli Broad, Desire by Ed Ruscha, via Sotheby’s


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Interior with African Mask by Roy Lichtenstein, via Broad Art Foundation


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Michael Jackson and Bubbles by Jeff Koons, via Broad Art Foundation


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Rabbit by Jeff Koons, via Broad Art Foundation


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I…I’m Sorry by Roy Lichtenstein, via Broad Art Foundation

BUSINESS PEOPLE

The Buffalo News (Buffalo, NY) January 4, 2004 The Roswell Park Alliance Foundation, a not-for-profit organization formed to receive and administer funds to support scientific and clinical research, medical care and patient related activities at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, named Frederick R. Dentinger to its Board of Trustees. Dentinger is founder and executive vice president of Humpfrey and Vandervoort, an insurance firm. The foundation named Peter O’Keefe to the Community Advisory Board, a membership group of fund-raising volunteers committed to supporting RPCI. O’Keefe founded O’Keefe Shaw and Co., an Amherst- based brokerage and investment advisory firm.

URS Corp., a Buffalo engineering firm, named Jack E. Wilcox Northeast coordinator for the Power Sector Business Line. A registered professional engineer, Wilcox previously served as a vice president at Samco Technologies and Ecology and Environment.

The Western New York School of Real Estate designated Clarence resident Edward Proszek and Shannon Reeves of Tonawanda certified home inspectors after successfully completing nearly 100 hours of education components and passing the six-hour in-class examination.

First Niagara Risk Management named Preston Henderson senior account executive. Previously, Henderson was a self-employed consultant.

Globalquest Solutions, a computer technology service and support provider, named David A. Chick an account executive. Previously, Chick was employed at the Educational Division of Inlighten Inc.

Univera Healthcare promoted Kathleen Krayna to manager of the Claims Department. A graduate of the University at Brockport, Krayna has been with Univera since 1993, and recently served as a supervisor in the Claims Department.

West-Herr Automotive Group promoted James Jones and Bethanne Hollis to general sales managers at Saturn of Orchard Park. Previously, Jones served as sales manager and Hollis was finance manager at the dealership.

InfoTech Niagara, a technology consortium, named Christopher Beckage, superior technical resoures; Silvia Fakler, office automation and training consultant/Atsilvia.com and Tom Smith, CMP media, to its board of directors. see here new york state department of education

Gaines Metzler Kriner and Company’s senior accountant, Michele Jeffers, earned her CPA designation, having satisfied all requirements mandated by the New York State Department of Education. A graduate of Medaille College, Jeffers has been with the firm since 2000.

The Rotary Club of Amherst East selected Paul McAfee president elect for the 2004-2005 year.

The Lewiston Insurance Agency named Joan W. Wolfgang to its staff. Wolfgang was previously associated with Lawley Services and has more than 31 years experience as a licensed agent and broker.

Praxair Inc. named Todd Alfonso procurement manager in the Global Procurement and Materials Management organization at the company’s Technology Center in Tonawanda. Alfonso has held various engineering and project management postions since joining Praxair in 1985.

Hodgson Russ named Elizabeth D. Carlson an associate in the law firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group in the Buffalo office. A graduate of the University at Buffalo Law School, Carlson previously served at Schulte Roth and Zabel in New York City.

O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative of Batavia appointed Michael Patterson chief financial officer. Patterson previously held various financial and management positions with Upstate Farms Cooperative in Buffalo. A graduate of the University at Buffalo, Patterson has more than 15 years experience in the dairy industry.

The Buffalo Niagara Partnership named Dennis M. Elsenbeck, Max T. Henderson, James E. Iglewski and Jeffrey A. Wellington to its board of directors.

The American College of Forensic Examiners International designated Dennis C. Brookman certified forensic accountant. Brookman is a certified public accountant in West Seneca.

PremCom Group, a multiservice integrator based in Amherst, named Mary Gordon to its outside sales team. Gordon is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University.

Quiller and Blake, an advertising agency located in Buffalo, named Stacy Wilkinson account executive. Previously, Wilkinson was with IBM Rational Software Group in Massachusetts.

The Business Council Insurance Fund named Donna S. Farrell an account executive for Western New York. Previously, Farrell served as vice president for group sales for MGM Associates of Rochester. Farrell is based in Penfield. First Niagara Bank named James Roland assistant vice president, small business at the new downtown Buffalo banking center. A graduate of the University at Buffalo, Roland previously served as a staff accountant at Wagner Noble and Co. in Charlotte. go to site new york state department of education

The Rochester-Western New York Chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management honored Scott A. Hill of Uniland Development Co. with the “Certified Property Manager of the Year Award” in recognition of his dedication and mentoring involvement at the local level. Hill previously served as president of the IREM chapter and is currently chairman of the Vendor Fair Committee as well as serving on the board of the Apartment Association of Greater Rochester and is a member of the Building Owners and Managers Association of Rochester.

The American Ceramic Society, an international organization of ceramic engineers based in Columbus, Ohio, selected Fred Teeter, president of Teeter Marketing Services, to present a paper titled “CVD Diamond Coated Cutting Tools: An Application Update” at a conference in Cocoa Beach, Fla.