Last week the LA art world was debating the pros and cons of a possible merger between LA MOCA and LACMA. Now the NYT reports the financially-troubled museum may be close to working out a five year agreement with the National Gallery of Art in Washington to collaborate on programming, research and exhibitions. Any agreement would not include financial or fundraising assistance, leaving MOCA's fiscal problems unsolved, but an agreement could help lift its fundraising efforts and ward off a merger with LACMA.

The  approach to the National Gallery was made by Eli Broad, the billionaire collector who bailed out MOCA in 2008. He is reported to have a special interest in the success of MOCA because he is building his own museum right across the street. For the moment he appears to have derailed the possibility of a merger with LACMA. Read more…
Image: The Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art