Bathers was acquired for the museum’s exhibition, Centennial Gifts: Recent Additions to the Permanent Collection, March 3 – May 27, 2019
Laguna Art Museum collects, cares for, and exhibits works of art that were created by California artists or represent the life and history of the state. Unlike any other museum in the state, it collects California art and only California art, and ranges across all periods and styles, nineteenth-century to present-day.
Laguna Art Museum grows and strengthens its permanent collection largely through donations from collectors, artists, and foundations. Since the beginning of 2018 it has received some outstanding donations of works of art in recognition of the centenary of its founding organization, the Laguna Beach Art Association. On show in the museum for the first time, the Centennial Gifts include paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, and original prints by acclaimed California artists of the past and the present. The exhibition also includes some promised gifts pledged to the collection during the past year, and two museum purchases. The featured artists include Lita Albuquerque, Tony DeLap, Lorser Feitelson, Joseph Goldyne, Emil Kosa, David Ligare, Dan McCleary, R. Kenton Nelson, Edgar Payne, Ruth Peabody, Agnes Pelton, Charles Rollo Peters, and David Simpson. The exhibition is a celebration of the museum’s growth as it moves beyond the centennial year and an expression of gratitude toward the donors who, through their gifts, have contributed so richly to Laguna Beach’s artistic legacy.