Director of Laguna Art Museum Resigns

After serving as director of the Laguna Art Museum in Laguna Beach for over 15 years, Bolton Colburn has decided to resign. According to the LAM board of trustees, an executive search committee has been created to find a successor for Colburn. Board President Robert Hayden III will carry out duties with LAM during the change.

Colburn said, "I love the Laguna Art Museum, its mission, and the community, but it is time for someone else to take the lead and for me to pursue other opportunities in the art world. I wish the museum every good fortune and prosperity."

“This was not an easy decision to make," said Colburn, "because serving the museum and its board of trustees has been a great privilege and honor for me. I am pleased to have played an important role in the history of the museum, first as a curator in the 1990s building the collection, organizing challenging exhibitions, and helping to define what would become the mission and future course of the museum.”

Colburn added that despite testing times with the opening of the LAM in 1995, the institution succeeded in collecting California art and proceeding with scholarly exhibitions of those acquired pieces. The museum has published several academic books on the subject of California art since the late 1990s.

"Bolton Colburn is greatly responsible for setting the mission and direction of Laguna Art Museum," said Robert Hayden III. "His extensive knowledge of California art history has been instrumental in programming groundbreaking and critically acclaimed exhibitions. His exceptional contributions to the museum will continue to be felt for many years to come."

The Laguna Art Museum may be contacted at 949-494-8971.  The museum is at 307 Cliff Dr. in Laguna Beach.