Laguna Art Museum director leaving

The Laguna Art Museum director announced Monday that he is stepping down May 13.

Bolton Colburn started as a curator in 1987 and assumed the role of director after the Newport Harbor Art Museum and Laguna Art Museum merged in 1997.

“I love Laguna Art Museum, its mission, and the community, but it is time for someone else to take the lead and for me to pursue other opportunities in the art world,” Colburn said in a news statement. I wish the museum every good fortune and prosperity.”

Board President Robert Hayden III will help facilitate a transition and the Board of Trustees has created an executive search committee.

“Bolton Colburn is greatly responsible for setting the mission and direction of Laguna Art Museum,” Hayden said in a statement. “His extensive knowledge of California art history has been instrumental in programming groundbreaking and critically acclaimed exhibitions. His exceptional contributions to the museum will continue to be felt for many years to come.”

Prior to coming to the Laguna Art Museum in the late 1980s, Colburn worked at the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego, formerly the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art.

— Joanna Clay