Category: Collector
Nationality: American
Last Year: 8

In addition to the ongoing construction of the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, named after a $26 million gift from the Broads, and designed by Zaha Hadid, this year saw the unveiling of architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s designs for ‘the Broad’, the couple’s Grand Avenue museum in LA, which will house their 2,000-strong collection of contemporary art. The $130m three-storey space will be inaugurated in 2013 with an exhibition of 200 top works, including examples by Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol. Broad rationalised the decision to build by explaining, ‘If you look at history, too many great collections ended up in storage and not being shown.’ Needless to say, some of the institutions on whose boards Broad sits – LACMA, MOCA, MoMA – were miffed that his major holdings would not pass into theirs, but the Broad will loan as well as maintain its own exhibition program, just like any other museum, so ultimately it’s the art that wins out in the deal.