L.A. county Museum of Art

The L.A. county Museum of Art is popularly known as the LACMA. It is the official museum of the County of Los Angeles and is a world famous museum of art. The L.A county Museum of Art is situated on Wilshire Boulevard along the Museum Row. It is in the Miracle Mile area of Los Angeles. The museum is next to the George C. Page Museum and the La Brea Tar Pits.

History

The L.A county Museum of Art was set up as a part of the Museum of Science, History and Art. It was situated in the Exposition Park neighborhood near the University of Southern California. The L.A. county Museum of Art was recognized as an independent art-focused institution in 1961. The location of the museum was shifted to its current premises in 1965. The L.A county Museum of Art was the largest museum building to be built during that time after the National Gallery of Art. The welcoming tower and Retrospective Column was created by Washington based sculptor Robert Graham. The Board of Trustees of the L.A county Museum of Art decided to renovate the museum in 2004. The renovation plan was led by renowned architect Renzo Piano. The transformation of the L.A county Museum of Art would be completed in three phases. Phase I is scheduled to be completed by February 2008. Phase III is slated to be completed by the end of 2010.

Collections at L.A county Museum of Art:

The collection at the L.A county Museum of Art amounts to more than 250,000 objects. They are divided into ten departments according to specific art-historical fields. The divisions are American Art, Ancient & Islamic Art, Costumes & Textiles, Decorative Arts, European painting and Sculpture, Far Eastern Art, Indian & Southeast Asian Art, Photography, Prints & Drawings and Twentieth Century Art. The Latin American Art collection at LACMA is one of the largest in the world. The collection grew due to a donation of more than 2000 art works by Bernard Lewin and Edith Lewin in 1996.