Art + Film Gala lauds director, artist

LOS ANGELES - American film director Martin Scorsese and British artist David Hockney were honored at the Art + Film Gala, an annual gathering that aims to bring the art and movie industries of Los Angeles closer together.

In a Saturday night event heavy with Hollywood actors and studio executives at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, or LACMA, the Oscar-winning director Scorsese was praised for helping save the museum’s film program when it was nearly scrapped during the financial crisis, and for his work on film restoration.

Hockney, a multimedia artist who lived and painted for decades in Los Angeles, was recognized for the way he captured the city, from swimming pools to Mulholland Drive - images that came to define Southern California.

LACMA has played a leading role in the burgeoning art scene in Los Angeles. The gala raised $4.1 million for LACMA’s film program.

Reuters