CLAREMONT, CA.- In response to the recent financial crisis of the Claremont Museum of Art, the Claremont City Council voted unanimously on November 10 to provide a grant to enable the Museum to remain in operation through the end of the year. The Council sees the Claremont Museum of Art as an important asset to the City and key to the survival of the Packing House development.

Ellen Taylor, former Mayor of Claremont and a member of the Museum's governing board, was one of several to present the funding request to City Council. “The Museum opened with good hopes and good plans. But we need to rethink these in terms of the new economy.” To do this, a Working Group has been formed to develop a plan to operate at a reduced cost and gather the necessary support to revitalize the Museum.

Claremont is at the core of an active art region with an abundance of outstanding talents, past and present. David Armstrong, a Claremont resident and President of the American Museum of Ceramic Art, says “The Claremont Museum of Art is a unique asset to the City of Claremont and must be preserved! Historically, a huge number of artists with international reputations have made their home in Claremont at one time or another. These artists, whose work shares space in museums, galleries, and private collections all over the world, are a great resource to the artistic legacy the City of Claremont enjoys. Thus, the Claremont Museum of Art is fulfilling the need to display recent work and preserve the city’s rich history in the field of fine art. By doing so, the museum is a great asset to the community as an educational center and is also of great economic benefit to the city and the city’s business community.”

The exhibition An Enduring Legacy: New acquisitions to the Permanent Collection presented with the support of Gould Asset Management and Ten Pound Ape: Your Mother was Beautiful Once, Part Vier funded by a grant from the James Irvine Foundation are currently on view. Museum hours are Friday-Sunday 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. All Claremont residents will be admitted free, with identification, through the end of this year.