The Un-Private Collection:
A New Museum for Los Angeles

Los Angeles is a city of renowned private collections that have become public museums: The Getty, the Hammer, the Norton Simon, The Huntington, and soon, The Broad. Consisting of over 2,000 artworks by established and emerging international artists, The Broad has added significantly to the contemporary art holdings on view to the Southern California public. Before the museum’s opening, Inge Reist led a discussion with the Broads and The Broad museum director Joanne Heyler about how their aesthetic tastes and social and political viewpoints informed their collection as well as the decision to build a new museum as an investment in downtown’s Grand Avenue and the cultural life of Los Angeles.