Norton Simon is to be congratulated on the remarkable job he has done in building a great collection which will, hopefully, be shared in perpetuity by the people of Southern California and art lovers who visit us from around the world ("Norton Simon" by Suzanne Muchnic, June 24).
As much as I admire the Norton Simon collection, there are key differences between Simon's philosophy and practice of collecting and mine. Our differences include:
* I don't believe that shareholders of public corporations should pay for expensive collections of art, especially if they are not seen daily by employees and visitors.
* I believe in strong support for public institutions by using one's entrepreneurial skill, time and money for the public benefit. I take great pride in having been the founding chairman of the Museum of Contemporary Art and helping to create a world-class institution. I prefer to support quality existing institutions like MOCA and the Los Angeles County Musuem of Art to creating a museum of one's own.
* The primary focus of our art activities is to expose the widest possible public audience to contemporary art. I believe in sharing with others and, from our personal, foundation and corporate collections, we are active lenders throughout the world. I view us as simply the custodians of the more than 1,000 works we have collected.
That's why the Eli Broad Family Foundation was born--to develop a collection of contemporary works to lend to museums, university art galleries and nonprofit exhibition spaces in the United States and internationally. Its mandate is to create a premier collection of the last quarter of this century.
The foundation is not open to the public; it is a "museum without walls," a lending library of contemporary art. The foundation fills a special purpose--making fine contemporary art available to a broader audience. Museums and college and university galleries are often unable to purchase major works for their own collections.
With rare exception--and perhaps Norton Simon is one--great collections have been built by acquiring art while it was being produced, rather than going far back in time. Contemporary art is the art of our time, and by collecting it we support the arts infrastructure, including artists, art schools, art dealers and the next generation of talent.
