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When an art museum reinstalls its permanent collection of paintings, sculptures and works on paper, perspectives can be freshened, recent scholarship given a platform and surprises unwrapped.
Last week, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art opened a permanent collection installation for Modern art some 250 works by nearly 200 artists. There’s a lot to see. Here are three unanticipated examples.
First: Does the name Cecil de Blaquière Howard ring a bell? If not, you’re not alone. Until last week, the artist was unknown to me.
But in the new installation on the third floor of the BCAM building, a small painted sculpture dated 1915 to 1917 stands on a pedestal between famous, powerhouse paintings by Henri Matisse (“Tea,” 1919) and Fernand Léger (“The Disks,” 1918-1919). Like them, that little sculpture, acquired by the museum two years ago, is marvelous.