Lynda and Stewart Resnick have donated a monumental Jeff Koons sculpture, *Split-Rocker*, to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). The 37-foot-tall work, made of a metal skeleton and planted with 50,000 flowers, resembles a hybrid toy head—half rocking horse, half dinosaur. It will be installed near a new group of galleries endowed by trustee David Geffen. The Resnicks listed an unnamed piece given to LACMA on their 2023 tax filings valued at $9.6 million. The donation is part of director Michael Govan’s long-term plan to add another major sculpture to LACMA’s campus, alongside works like Chris Burden’s *Urban Light* and Tony Smith’s *Smoke*.
The gift highlights the ongoing influence of the Resnicks, who have a history of major patronage at LACMA—including a $45 million endowment gift that named a pavilion after them—but also draws attention to controversies surrounding their business practices. Climate activists have protested the Resnicks over water-supply privatization, and a 2023 protest targeted LACMA’s annual gala. The donation also revives LACMA’s ambition to host a large-scale Koons work, after a 2007 plan for a 70-foot steam train sculpture fell through. It underscores the complex intersection of philanthropy, institutional ambition, and public accountability in the art world.