Hasta La Ideas

Some further developments on the Orange County Museum of Art scandal that’s been the talk in museum circles these past few days. After secretly selling a handful of paintings to a private collector without first mentioning their desire to sell to other museums in the area, thus potentially keeping the pieces accessible, the OCMA’s director, Dennis Szakacs has said that he is more than happy to tell other museums who they sold the paintings to, but they plan to keep it a secret from everyone else:

“The person’s identity is going to be known within the museum community,” even though OCMA has promised not to divulge it to the general public, said Szakacs, who called the Times from Venice, Italy, on Thursday. If another museum asks, he added, “I would absolutely direct them to the collector, and I would make that introduction, and help facilitate that loan…or give any other museum an opportunity to cultivate this person, build a relationship with them, invite them to be on their board. All these opportunities are available to anyone in the [museum] community.”

We’re guessing it’s just a matter of time until the name gets leaked, but until then, and likely even after, Szakacs and his museum won’t be the most popular people in the area for the foreseeable future.