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Vegas to Get Art Loan from D.C.
by Jennifer Dalton

Red Rocks, Nevada
Thomas Gibbons

Washington, D.C.'s Phillips Collection has finalized a deal to lend Las Vegas's Bellagio Hotel twenty-six major paintings and sculptures for a six month exhibition. The Phillips hopes that the unusual deal will earn the institution $1 million. The Bellagio Hotel has become famous for its art gallery, founded by former owner and art collector, Steve Wynn.

Oasis
Bob Bennett

The deal is innovative in that the Bellagio isn't paying the Phillips a rental fee for the artworks; rather, the Phillips is being paid directly from the admission fees at the door. The Bellagio will charge $10 or $12 admission (the fee is lower for visitors living in Nevada), and the net proceeds, after expenses, will go directly to the Phillips. The museum says the money will be used to expand education and exhibition programs and to increase its endowment.

Masterworks from the Phillips Collection at the Bellagio will include important paintings by van Gogh, Degas, Matisse, Cezanne, Bonnard, Picasso, El Greco and others. The Bellagio hopes that this will be the first of many similar rotating exhibitions and is in negotiation with several other museums to borrow from their collections for future shows.

Sunflowers I
Toby Goldman

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