The Ahmanson gifts : European masterpieces in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

218 Pages·1991·11.2 MB·English

by  Los Angeles County Museum of Art

/\HMARSON
THE GIFTS
European Masterpieces in the Collection of the Los Angeles County Museum oj Art
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AhMANSON
THE gifts

AhMANSON
THE
gifts
European Masterpieces in the Collection ofthe Los Angeles County Museum ofArt
Philip Conisbee Mary L. Levkoff Richard Rand
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
— —
Published by the Los Angeles County Library ofCongress
MuseumofArt, 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Los Angeles, California 90056. LosAngeles County Mu.seum ofArt.
Copyright © 1991 b\' Museum Associates, masTtherepiAehcmeasnisnotnhegiclotlsle:cLtuironopoefatnhe Los
LosAngelesCounty Museum ofArt. Angeles County MuseumofArt/ Philip
All rights reserved. Conisbee, Mary L. Levkoff, Richard Rand,
p. cm.
Editor: GregoryA. Dobie Includesbibliographical referencesand
Designer; Robin Weiss
index.
Photographt-rs: Peter Brenner, Barbara Lyter, ISBN 0-87587-160-7 (—pbk.)
and SteveOli\er 1. Painting, Europ—ean Cat—alogs.
Typesetter: AndresenTypographies,Tueson, 2. Painting, Modern Eur—ope Catalogs.
Arizona 3. Ahmanso—n Foundation Art
Printer: Nissha Printing Co., Ltd., Kyoto, collections —Catalogs. 4. H. F—. Ahmanson
Japan & Company— Art collections Catalogs.
5, Painting— Private coll—ections
COVER:
California LosAngeles Catalogs.
Philippe de Champaigne 6. Los Angeles County MuseumofArt
Saini Augustine (detail) Catalogs.
Cat. no. 46 I. Conisbee, Philip. II. Le\koff, Mary L.,
1953- 111 Rand, Richard. IV title.
FRONTISPIECE: ND454.Lh 1991 —
CircleofDomenicoAntonio Vaccaro 759.94' 074'79494 1I1-20 91-18247
SamtMichaelCasimg Satan into Hell(detail) CIP
Cat. no. 24
Contents
6 Horcwonl
Earl A. Poncll III
7 Editorial Note and AcknowIcdtjmcnts
Philip Conisbcc
8 A Model ofInformed Patronage
Philip Conisbee
Catalogue
1 1
207 Index ol Artists
Foreword
A
iVrt has never been created in a social and economic vacuum. Few ofthe works
jiublishcd in this catalogue would ha\e come into existence without the informed
patronage ot either individuals or institutions (v\hether secular or religious) from
the fifteenth centurv through the earlv twentieth centurv. Most ofthese pieces were
produced tor the privileged, in whose exclusive preserve thev normally remained.
But the public art mu.seum, that noble creation ofenlightened nineteenth-century
philanthropy, has made art a\ailable to a wide audience. While the context for
these works has radically changed, the enterprise ofthe modern museum also
requires infomied patronage. It necessitates considerable efforts ofthought, will, and
generosity to bring fine artworks into the public domain, especially in these days of
upwardly spiraling prices and strong international competition. The Los Angeles
County Museum ofArt has been extremely fortunate in receiving such enlightened
support trom The Ahmanson Foundation, se\eral members ofthe Ahmanson
family, and H. F. Ahmanson and Company, all ofwhorn have been consistently and
magnanimously generous to the museum's Department of Furopean Painting and
Sculpture during the last twentN' years.
While the focus ofthe catalogue is the remarkable group ofEuropean old master
paintings and sculptures that has come to constitute bv far the major concentration
of Ahmanson gifts to the museum, their other donations to the Departments of
Far Eastern Art, Indian and Southeast Asian Art, and Prints and Drawings should
also be acknowledged. It should be mentioned as well that before the Ahmanson
benefactors turned their attention to the museum's collections with such good
effect, Howard F. Ahman.son provided the major funding for the building in which
the same collections are housed and which bears the .Ahmanson name. This
benefaction is discussed in more detail in the introduction.
The purpose ofthis \olume is to celebrate twent\ \ears of.Ahmanson gifts bv
publishing them all in full color, together with scholarly entries that present the
current state of knowledge about each piece. While it should be borne in mind
that the works discussed are complemented by the many other gifts and purchases
that make ii|) the European collection as a whole, the quality ofthe .Ahmanson gifts
is consistently outstanding. .Among them are se\eral truly great masterpieces of
European art.
The catalogue is meant to be both a handv reference work tor tlu' art historian
and an enjoyable guide for museum visitors. It fulfills an important part ofthe
educational mission ofthe museum and is a just tribute to the outstanding
generosity of The .Ahmanson Foundation, the Ahmanson family, and H. F. Ahmanson
and Company
Earl A. Powell III
Director