The Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1965. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is kicking off its 50th anniversary with a major gift of contemporary art. Local collectors Jane and Marc Nathanson have promised the institution eight works created  over four decades, including seminal pieces by Damien Hirst, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella, and Andy Warhol. The bequest marks the beginning of a campaign, chaired by LACMA trustees Jane Nathanson and Lynda Resnick, to encourage additional promised gifts of art in honor of the institution’s anniversary. The Nathansons’ donation is estimated to be worth around $50 million.

Well known for their philanthropic endeavors in the Los Angeles area, the Nathansons have made several contributions to LACMA’s collection, including supporting the acquisition of a set of Ed Ruscha prints in honor of the museum's 40th anniversary. A major gallery in LACMA's Renzo Piano-designed Broad Contemporary Art Museum is named after the couple, and the building's gala opening, which was chaired by Jane in 2008, remains the single largest fundraising event in LACMA’s history. Jane has been a trustee of the museum since 2004.

Resnick and her husband, Stewart, also gifted LACMA an impressive collection of works. The bequest includes a Renaissance painting by the Flemish artist Hans Memling; a bronze sculpture by the Italian Mannerist Giambologna; and paintings by the Rococo master Francois Boucher and the French Neoclassical painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. According to ArtDaily, Michael Govan, LACMA’s CEO and Director, remarked, "What do you give a museum for its birthday? Art. As we reach the milestone of our 50th anniversary, it is truly inspiring to see generous patrons thinking about the future generations of visitors who will enjoy these great works of art for years and decades to come.”

The full roster of LACMA’s anniversary gifts will be announced on April 18, 2015, at a gala co-chaired by Nathanson, Resnick, and fellow trustee Ann Colgin. Fifty of the works will go on view in the Resnick Pavilion as part of the exhibition 50 for 50: Gifts on the Occasion of LACMA’s 50th Anniversary. The show will be open to the public from April 26, 2015, through September 7, 2015.