L.A. Museums' Collections Grow Despite Poor Economy

Roy Hamilton, the Fowler's curator of Asian and Pacific collections, had a similarly happy experience last year when he pursued a tip about a Japanese textile collection in search of a home. Bypassing the usual courtship, he went to see Dr. Jeffrey Krauss of Potomac, Md., and landed 201 intricately dyed and patterned textiles made from the early 19th to the mid-20th century. Unexpected as it was, the marriage was meant to be, Hamilton says, because the museum can accommodate entire collections and make them available for research, as the donor wished.