Ed Kienholz's The Illegal Operation

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that 16 LACMA supporters have bought Ed Kienholz's The Illegal Operation (1962), for the museum's collection. The work was owned by Beverly Hills collector Monte Factor, who told the Times it was displayed in upstairs dressing room: "I walked by the piece every time I went to the bathroom." Reported price is about $1 million. This makes the museum's third million-dollar-or-more purchase in a little over a month.