Donor Gives Los Angeles Museum Art Worth $500 Million

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In a gift the Los Angeles County Museum of Art says is the largest in its history, billionaire Jerry Perenchio is donating art worth an estimated $500 million to the museum.

From member station KPCC in Los Angeles:

"The collection — at least 47 pieces with an estimated value of $500 million — includes work by such European masters as Pierre Bonnard, Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, René Magritte, Pablo Picasso and others."

The paintings and other works collected by Perenchio, 83, won't go into the museum's permanent collection until after his death.

"He has offered to us to show some of the highlights very soon," Museum CEO and Director Michael Govan tells KPCC. "In fact, in a matter of months, so you'll get a taste of that."

The donation also includes a requirement that the museum follow through on plans to rebuild its campus.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the public donation is a divergence for Perenchio, who has largely avoided the spotlight.

"In this case, I've decided that it's worth a temporary step into the spotlight and to encourage other collectors to give to LACMA and support the fundraising," Perenchio tells the newspaper.

A former talent agent and TV executive, Perenchio scored a billion-dollar payday in 2007 when he sold his part of Univision, the Spanish-language network he helped buy in 1992.

Longtime sports fans might also recall that Perenchio was the promoter who put together a famous 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, billed as the "Battle of the Sexes."