Las Vegas Places a Bet on a New Art Museum, With Help From L.A.

Las Vegas has the Neon Museum, the Mob Museum, the Punk Rock Museum and the Pinball Hall of Fame, among others. But it is currently the largest city in the United States without a major art museum, despite several attempts over the years.

Now it looks as if that will change, thanks to the unusual collaboration of two art-world heavyweights: Elaine Wynn, the Las Vegas casino magnate and art collector, and Michael Govan, the director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

The two have joined forces to help create the new Las Vegas Museum of Art, with a plan that took a major step forward on Wednesday when the Las Vegas City Council agreed to give 1.5 acres of land in the city’s downtown cultural district to the museum for $1. The museum, a 90,000-square-foot structure expected to cost $150 million, hopes to open in 2028.

“I am excited about the prospect of adding a new art museum to our city,” Carolyn G. Goodman, the mayor of Las Vegas, said in a statement to The New York Times. “Art and culture has been a key pillar in the development of the city of Las Vegas over the last 25 years.”

Wynn, who co-founded Wynn Resorts and Mirage Resorts with her former husband (and fellow art collector), Steve Wynn, said she hopes that the museum will be her legacy and give Las Vegas the fine arts institution it deserves.

Preliminary concept design for the future Las Vegas Museum of Art.Credit…Kéré Architecture