The Los Angeles Times marks the passing of Gerald Buck, real estate developer and builder of a 1000+ item collection of California art:
Art dealers said he began buying pieces in the mid- to late 1980s, and in the beginning had an intense interest in early 20th century works in California. “He was very devoted to history,” said Los Angeles gallery owner Tobey Moss. That led, she said, to his interest in art as it evolved in the state, “after the 1930s when art in California turned the corner from landscapes, seascapes and pink sunsets to much more of a hard edge, abstraction.”
In recent years he bought numerous works by Latino artists who worked in Southern California, including Almaraz and De la Sota. […]
Christina Buck said that plans for the collection were under discussion and would take some time to work out. She said her father “didn’t want to hoard the art,” and that some public showings would probably continue. She said she has been given a list of pieces he was intending to lend to museums for exhibitions over the next two years.
A few days before her father died, she asked him directly what he wanted done with the art. “He said to make sure I shared this collection,” she said, “that it was for people to see and enjoy, and be part of.”
Gerald Buck dies at 73; kept huge art collection mostly under wraps (Los Angeles Times)
