Fred Eversley Evicted; LACMA Buys a Lens

Fred Eversley, untitled, 1972. LACMA

The latest gentrification horror tale is reported in the Wall Street Journal, of all places. Fred Eversley has been evicted from the history-rich Venice studio he'd occupied for over a half century. Eversley originally moved to Venice because it was one of the few places that would rent to blacks. He took over John Altoon's old studio, which had been updated by Frank Gehry. According to the WSJ, Eversley's landlord didn't give him a chance to renew his lease. He's now living in New York.

Meanwhile LACMA has acquired its first Eversley sculpture, an untitled cast-polyester lens from 1972. Eversley was the one major light and space artist missing from LACMA's collection. The sculpture is a gift of Alice and Nahum Lainer and the Modern and Contemporary Art Council.

The Whitney beat LACMA by 48 years, acquiring its first Eversley way back in 1970. Crystal Bridges and MoMA have also added Eversley works in recent years.

Fred Eversley, untitled (Parabolic Lens), 1972. Museum of Modern Art, New York