Billionaire Eli Broad unveils plans for #84 million Los Angeles art gallery
Eli Broad, the American philanthropist billionaire, has unveiled plans for a Los Angeles art gallery that will house his 2,000-piece collection including pieces by Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.
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Artist's impression of the $130 million museum billionaire Eli Broad plans to build on Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles Photo: AP
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Artist's impression of the $130 million museum billionaire Eli Broad plans to build on Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles Photo: AP
7:35PM GMT 07 Jan 2011
The museum, called The Broad, features a honeycombed shaped facade, glass-enclosed lobby and three floors to display various works in their 2,000-piece collection.
The Broad, costing an estimated $130 million (£84 million), was designed by New York-based architects Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, and will be situated near the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Mr Broad, 77, made his fortune as a builder and co-founded the home construction company Kaufman & Broad. Forbes estimated his net worth at $5.7 billion in 2010.
Construction on the museum is scheduled to begin in the summer, with the galleries welcoming their first visitors in early 2013.
Mr Broad said the museum's initial exhibit will include a broad selection of works from his collection, including pieces by Jeff Koons, John Baldassari and Cindy Sherman. For the following three years, it will rotate its exhibitions every four months to focus on artist that are well represented in the collection, such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Damien Hirst and Lichtenstein.
Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles, praised the Broads for building and financing the museum, which he predicted would help rekindle the downtown redevelopment projects that have been dampened by the economic downturn.
"This is going to become an anchor tenant for an area the is revitalising before our very eyes," he said.qtdz
Telegraph.co.uk
