The W.M. Keck Foundation announced a $50 million donation Thursday for the redevelopment of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art campus on Wilshire Boulevard.
“The Keck Foundation strives to enrich the lives of Southern California residents and places special emphasis on children, youth and their families,” foundation Chairman/CEO Robert Day said in a statement.
Day said the organization is “inspired” by LACMA Director Michael Govan’s “vision of an art museum for all.”
“Along with our new Keck Foundation co-presidents Joe Deegan Day and Stephen Keck, I am particularly excited about the museum’s goal of improving access to art and art education for Angelenos from all parts of our region for many years to come.”
According to LACMA, the donation means more than $640 million has been raised toward the $650 million construction cost of the project. Construction is expected to begin in late February, with the new building expected to open by 2024.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the LACMA fundraising drive was largely stalled for most of last year, so the $50 million Keck donation is a major kick-start for the project.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has already committed $125 million toward the project, despite some concerns that the proposed new building — which will replace four existing ones and be built across and above Wilshire Boulevard — actually represents a reduction in exhibit space. Govan has insisted, however, that Broad Contemporary Art Museum building and the Resnick Pavilion added 100,000 square feet of gallery space to the campus.
When the new building is completed, LACMA will have a total of 220,000 square feet of exhibit space, Govan told the Board of Supervisors last year.