Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA)

In 1988, Ruth Bloom established her eponymous gallery with the goal of shedding light on under-exhibited artists whom she found remarkable. Among these were Gregory Crewdson, to whom Ruth offered his first post-graduate solo exhibition in 1991. Crewdson is today recognized as an innovative, genre-bending artist of the photographic medium whose America-centric images are neither documentary nor pure fabrication. Ruth was early to recognize Crewdson as exceptional: “Gregory comes across as more normal than most,” she told the New York Times in 2000, “But even in normalcy there's always that undercurrent, that little bit of darkness. His work allows him to explore what we're normally uncomfortable with.” Ruth and Jake Bloom would continue to collect and champion Crewdson’s work throughout his career, playing an integral role in his evolution as a foremost American photographer. 

Married in 1965, Ruth and Jacob “Jake” Bloom purchased their first piece of art together in 1966—a Renoir print given as a gift to their inlaws. Over the course of the decades that followed, the couple would emerge as leading collectors and supporters of contemporary art in Los Angeles, voracious art lovers and philanthropists whose generosity and genuine passion for avant-garde artists helped shape the cultural cutting edge. Reflecting their deep involvement in post-World War II creative movements, The Jake and Ruth Bloom Collection features major works from Robert Longo, Marilyn Minter, Gregory Crewdson, among many others, and showcases the Blooms’ savvy, intrepid, and influential approach to the field of contemporary art.

“We inhaled art,” Jake once said. “We ended up with some very, very significant pieces in our collection.” 

While the term “power couple” might get thrown around, it is an apt descriptor for the Blooms: Jake was a legendary entertainment lawyer, who counted Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, and Jerry Bruckheimer among his clients. Bloom was among the founding members of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) Los Angeles, where Ruth would also serve on the board for more than a decade. Indeed, the pair would establish MoCA’s Ruth and Jake Bloom Young Artist Fund, which would help the institution acquire works from new emergent artists at pivotal moments in their careers. “We inhaled art,” Jake once said. “We ended up with some very, very significant pieces in our collection.”