Three LA Museums Jointly Acquire Collection of Local Art

Three major LA museums—the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Museum of Contemporary Art—have formed a unique partnership to acquire 260 contemporary artworks. The new joint collection, which was gifted by local philanthropists Jarl and Pamela Mohn, focuses on Los Angeles artists.

Jarl Mohn, former CEO of NPR and head of E! Entertainment Television, and his wife Pamela recently made a major gift of contemporary art to three leading LA art museums. The couple’s substantial collection of contemporary art has mostly been amassed over the past two decades. It includes paintings, sculptures, and mixed-media pieces by artists who are or were based in Los Angeles. Thanks to the Mohns’ donation, 260 of these works now jointly belong to three LA museums.

The exciting new collaboration between the three LA museums has been called the Mohn Art Collective, or MAC3 for short. In addition to the Mohn donation, the MAC3’s joint collection comprises 96 pieces acquired from the Hammer’s Made in LA biennial, bringing the collection total to 356 so far. Each of the MAC3 institutions will have access to the full collection for display in their galleries. There are also plans to facilitate a global lending program, including financial aid for smaller art institutions interested in borrowing from the prestigious collection.

“Unprecedented Collaboration” Between LA Museums

Jarl and Pamela Mohn are well-known in the art world for collecting the work of emerging Los Angeles-based artists. “[Jarl and Pamela Mohn’s] collection reflects the dynamic creativity and innovation that define our city,” said Johanna Burton, director of the MOCA, in a statement. As philanthropists, the Mohns also make frequent donations to LA museums. Notably, they fund the Mohn Award at the Hammer’s Made in LA biennial, which grants a $100,000 prize to a participating artist, as well as two additional prizes valued at $25,000 each.

Ann Philbin, outgoing director of LA’s Hammer Museum, said, “Jarl and Pamela Mohn’s passion and generosity for the artists of Los Angeles are simply unparalleled. They have made a gift of their collection, as well as the resources for it to grow, as one more example of their commitment to Los Angeles artists in the form of this unprecedented collaboration between three great LA museums.”

In a statement, Jarl Mohn said, “Pamela and I are ecstatic to make this gift, not only to make these outstanding artworks by Los Angeles artists available to the public, but to do it in such a way as to foster collaboration among three of the city’s most extraordinary museums in the spirit of this tight-knit community of artists.” The Mohns’ gift also includes a multimillion-dollar endowment fund to cover future annual acquisitions for the MAC3 collection, as well as storage and conservation costs. “I don’t want it to be a burden. I want this to be a really joyful experience and not a heavy lift for the institutions,” Mohn told The Times.