A Gift With Broad Implications

Eli Broad’s $60 million gift to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art towards the construction of a new wing is being hailed as an unexpected windfall at a time when many museums are having to postpone or cancel expansion projects. But the gift’s impact may be more far-reaching than even Broad himself expected, says Christopher Reynolds: “Although its key goal is the creation of a new contemporary art building, LACMA’s leaders are already imagining how this will change the shape of their institution.”