LONG BEACH,CA -- Robert Gumbiner, founder of the Museum of Latin American Art, was an arts advocate and philanthropist who was driven and demanding, colleagues said Wednesday. Gumbiner, a pioneer in the health maintenance organization system of medical care who began MoLAA in 1996, died Tuesday at his Naples home from advanced prostate cancer. He was 85.
"It's not often you get to work with someone so erudite, so experienced, so innovative and, well, so difficult," said Nancy Fox, MoLAA's former chief operating officer and then chief executive officer. "He was very demanding. Once he set his mind on a goal, he wanted to reach that goal as quickly as possible. He pushed and challenged everyone," said Fox, who left MoLAA in 2007 after a seven-year stint, shortly after the museum's $10 million expansion. "If you could manage that, he pushed you to be your best."
Gumbiner also wanted MoLAA to be the best. It was the only museum in the Western U.S. devoted exclusively to Latin American art and has a permanent collection of about 1,000 pieces, from paintings and sculpture to installations and videos.
By the time the museum was remodeled into its present layout, Gumbiner and his foundation had contributed more than $55 million, said Mike Deovlet, executive director of the Robert Gumbiner Foundation. He left large endowments to the foundation, MoLAA, Deovlet said. Gumbiner's entire personal collection of Latin American art will go to the foundation, which will then donate it to the museum.
Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster lauded Gumbiner for using his success in business to fund his passion for the arts."He had not only a successful and fruitful business career, but also gave back," Foster said. "I am saddened by his loss, and I think the city owes him a great debt of gratitude."
Gumbiner, a graduate of Indiana University Medical School, was born in St. Louis and raised in Gary, Ind. He arrived in Long Beach in 1949.
In 1957, three years after Gumbiner opened a Lakewood practice, he started a medical group that offered patients a fixed price for all doctor services.
In 1961, when Gumbiner started Family Health Program, a nonprofit HMO that eventually became FHP International, which delivered health care to over a million patients in 11 states, Gumbiner wrote in a 2003 biography.
In 1990, Gumbiner stepped down from FHP as chief executive officer. Five years later, when FHP merged with health maintenance group TakeCare, Gumbiner was ousted as chairman and then resigned from the board.
A short time later, the company closed its FHP Hippodrome Gallery, which Gumbiner had opened in 1985, at 628 Alamitos Ave.
In July 1996, Gumbiner, who owned the property, had the building renovated to some of its early grandeur -- The Hippodrome was built in 1930 as an art deco skating palace. It re-opened as the 2,000-square-foot Latin American Art Museum, which showcased many works from Gumbiner's 200-piece collection of contemporary Latin American art.
As the museum grew, the exhibits expanded to more than Gumbiner's collection, Fox said. "He knew it was important that the museum's collection be broad and have artistic excellence, even if he didn't like the work."
Gumbiner is survived by three sons, Burke, Lee and Jay; a daughter, Alis; and five grandchildren. His wife, Judy, died in January 2007.
A public memorial service is set for the MoLAA on March 15. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to MoLAA.
phillip.zonkel@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1258
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