State Ranks Art Museum in O.C. Lower This Year

The Newport Harbor Art Museum, already contending with major internal upheavals, has suffered a significant drop in its rating from a California Arts Council advisory panel ranking groups for 1990 grants.

The panel, evaluating artistic and organizational strength, gave the museum a 3 on a four-point scale, the same score it received in 1987-88 and ‘88-89. Last year the museum was ranked 4-.

A council spokeswoman said the museum, which received $59,386 last year, is likely to receive less this year because of the lower score.

The panel also gave the Laguna Art Museum a lower rank than last year, though its drop from a 3+ to a 3 was less precipitous.

The Irvine Fine Arts Center, in its first organizational grant application, was given a 3-; the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art climbed half a point to 2; and the Art Institute of Southern California, also a first-time applicant, was given a 2.

Grant sizes will not be determined until the council’s total budget is announced, within the next week or so. But usually only groups ranked 3- and above are funded.

The full arts council is slated to vote on the panel’s recommendations in September. Newport Harbor’s score may be altered somewhat in July when it receives a second ranking on community outreach, required of organizations with budgets of $1 million or more.

This has not been an easy year for the museum. Since November, it has lost its director and two top curators, and has yet to replace any of them. Meanwhile, in a situation described by some observers as a rancorous “power play” among trustees, a $50-million fund drive to build a new museum has stalled during disagreements over the architectural plans.

It was unclear Friday whether these factors contributed to the museum’s lower rank. Council officials familiar with the panel’s decisions were not available for comment.