Bad Day in L.A.

At the vernissage for Art L.A., all anyone could talk about was an L.A. Times photograph of LACMA director Michael Govan offering ID to federal agents outside his own institution during their January 24 raid on LACMA and three other California museums. The government’s probe into purportedly looted items came on the heels of Eli Broad’s announcement that he would not be donating any of his art collection. Luckily, Govan had plenty of sympathy. One local radio critic at the vernissage said he hoped the well-respected director wouldn’t bolt for another job—especially now that there’s an opening at the Met, in New York.

"Bad Day in L.A. " originally appeared in the March 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's March 2008 Table of Contents.