Half a million reasons to smile

Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006 | 8:25 a.m.

A couple of weeks ago Libby Lumpkin, the consulting executive director of the Las Vegas Art Museum, and her husband, art critic Dave Hickey, headed over to the home of Patrick Duffy and Wally Goodman.

There they perused the couple's private art collection of mostly contemporary works that hang on nearly every wall in the house.

While Hickey and Goodman reminisced about the art world, Duffy took Lumpkin aside and asked, "Libby, do you see any part of our collection fitting into the collection of the Las Vegas Art Museum?"

The answer was an unequivocal yes. Duffy and Goodman then promised a $500,000 gift of works to help seed the museum's private collection.

"We are very delighted," said Lumpkin, an art historian, curator and writer, who joined the museum last summer. This really kicks off the first round of serious collecting for the museum."

For a museum that has already made huge strides in the past six months, this new acquisition of works is a gargantuan step forward.

"It's the only way you enter relationships with museums around the country," Lumpkin said Wednesday. "And it makes it easy for us to mount excellent exhibitions ourselves."

Besides, Lumpkin said, "There are times when you want to show off the permanent collection. There are some things that have been given to the museum for the permanent collection that are not museum quality."

Exactly which works will be donated is still being negotiated, but Duffy and Goodman have promised the museum a painting by American artist William T. Wiley and a large-scale painting by English artist Matthew Radford. The value of the appraised donation will equal $500,000 or more.

The decision on which works will go to the museum will be the result of a collaborative effort between Duffy, Goodman, Lumpkin and Renee Coppola, LVAM's assistant executive director.

Goodman and Duffy own more than 300 works, including sculptures, oils, acrylics and works on paper. Most of their collection is contemporary work from the Bay Area to New York to Sante Fe, N.M. They also own a few modern works.

They are as well known for their collecting as they are for their philanthropy. Goodman was a major contributor to the Palace of the Legion of Honor museum in San Francisco.

"Whatever city we've lived in, we've given to. From Honolulu all the way to New York," Duffy said. "It's part of being a collector."

Since arriving in Las Vegas, they have donated a kinetic sculpture by Fletcher Benton to the Guggenheim Foundation in honor of Las Vegas.

Duffy said the donation to the Las Vegas Art Museum will seed a permanent collection that the couple will continue to add to.

Also, Duffy said, "We made the entire collection available to the Las Vegas Art Museum for loan purposes to other institutions"

Michele Quinn, director of Godt-Cleary Projects, a contemporary gallery downtown, said the donation shows the level of support the LVAM is going to receive now that Lumpkin is on board.

"I think this is just the beginning of the donations at the museum," Quinn said. "And its permanent collection is just as important as its traveling exhibits.

"For us to become a real regional arts community, we need a museum to promote the right level of works."

Kristen Peterson can be reached at 259-2317 or at kristen@ lasvegassun.com.