Eli Broad Won't Donate Collection

LOS ANGELES—Billionaire, philanthropist, and megacollector Eli Broad has surprised the art world by deciding to keep his art collection rather than giving it to a museum. The New York Times reports that Broad will retain permanent control of his works through an independent foundation that makes loans to museums instead of giving his holdings to one or more institutions as he previously said he would, a decision the Times calls a "striking reversal by Mr. Broad." The newspaper also called the announcement a "potential embarrassment" for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which was thought to be the top potential recipient of Broad's collection and which recently built the $56 million Broad Contemporary Art Museum, a building financed by Broad and designed by Renzo Piano. However, Broad said the decision is not a reflection on how he feels about the museum. ''I think it's a new model that makes sense for other collections,'' he said. ''If it was up to me, I believe that museums ought to own works jointly.'' He added that LACMA would be the "favored institution" for loans from his 2,000-piece collection.