IRVINE, Calif. — Modern art rarely seen by the public will be displayed at the University of California, Irvine, after a collector donated more than 3,000 paintings and sculptures to the school. Gerald Buck, a Newport Beach property developer who died in 2013, bequeathed more than 3,200 original works to the university. In the trove are paintings by prominent California artists of the 20th Century, including Richard Diebenkorn, Sam Francis and Joan Brown. Malcolm Warner, executive director of the Laguna Art Museum, called it “undeniably the greatest collection of California art ever assembled in private hands.”School leaders hope the museum will make Irvine a destination for art lovers. Buck, who built sprawling suburban communities, was actively involved with Southern California museums as well as the Smithsonian Institution.

Source: National Post November 15, 2017 16:52 UTC