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J. Paul Getty Museum

Coordinates: 34°04′39″N 118°28′30″W / 34.07750°N 118.47500°W / 34.07750; -118.47500
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J. Paul Getty Museum
Map
Established1954
Location1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, California; and 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California
TypeArt museum
DirectorMichael Brand
Websitehttp://www.getty.edu/

The J. Paul Getty Museum, a program of the J. Paul Getty Trust, is an art museum in California.[1] It has two locations in the City Of Los Angeles, the Getty Villa in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood,[1] and the main museum, The Getty Center, in the Brentwood neighborhood. The Getty Center which contains a collection from "Western art and the Middle Ages to the present;" its estimated 1.3 million visitors annually makes it one of the most visited museums in the United States.[2] The museum at the Getty Villa contains art from "ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria".[3]

History

In 1974,[citation needed] J. Paul Getty opened his second museum, in a re-creation of the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum, on his property in Pacific Palisades, California. In 1982, the museum became the richest in the world when it inherited US$1.2 bn.[4] In 1997, the museum moved to its current location in Brentwood; the Pacific Palisades museum, renamed the "Getty Villa", was closed for renovation until 2006.

GettyGuide

Detailed information about the J. Paul Getty Museum’s collections is provided on GettyGuide, a suite of interactive multimedia tools available at the Museum, as well as on getty.edu. At the GettyGuide stations in the Museum, visitors can get information about exhibitions, play with an interactive timeline, watch videos on art-making techniques, and more. Also available at the Museum, the GettyGuide multimedia player features commentary from curators and conservators on many works of art. With GettyGuide on the Web, one may browse the Museum’s collection[5] and bookmark works of art to create a customized tour and printable map.[6] More information about GettyGuide can be found on getty.edu.[7]

The inner courtyard of the Getty museum

The controversies with Italy and Greece

The Getty is involved in a controversy regarding proper title to some of the artwork in its collection. The Museum's previous curator of antiquities, Marion True, was indicted in Italy in 2005 (along with famed dealer Robert Hecht Jr.) on criminal charges relating to trafficking in stolen antiquities. Similar charges have been addressed by the Greek authorities. The primary evidence in the case came from the 1995 raid of a Geneva, Switzerland, warehouse which had contained a fortune in stolen artifacts. Italian art dealer Giacomo Medici was eventually arrested in 1997; his operation was thought to be "one of the largest and most sophisticated antiquities networks in the world, responsible for illegally digging up and spiriting away thousands of top-drawer pieces and passing them on to the most elite end of the international art market".[8]

In a letter to the J. Paul Getty Trust on December 18, 2006, True stated that she is being made to "carry the burden" for practices which were known, approved, and condoned by the Getty's Board of Directors.[9] True is currently under investigation by Greek authorities over the acquisition of a 2,500 year old funerary wreath. The wreath, along with a 6th century BC statue of a woman, have now been returned to Greece and are now exhibited at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki.[10]

On November 20, 2006, the director of the museum, Michael Brand, announced that twenty-six disputed pieces were to be returned to Italy, but not the Victorious Youth, which is still claimed by the Italian authorities. In 2007 the Los Angeles J. Paul Getty Museum was forced to return 40 artifacts, including a 5th century BC statue of the goddess Aphrodite, which was looted from Morgantina, an ancient Greek settlement in Sicily.[11] The Getty Museum resisted the requests of the Italian government for nearly two decades, only to admit later that "there might be 'problems'" attached to the acquisition."[12] In 2006 Italian senior cultural official Giuseppe Proietti said: "The negotiations haven't made a single step forward." Only after he suggested the Italian government "to take cultural sanctions against the Getty, suspending all cultural cooperation,"[13] did the J. Paul Getty Museum return the antiquities.

In another unrelated case in 1999 the Getty Museum had to hand over three antiquities to Italy after determining they were stolen. The objects included a Greek red-figure kylix from the 5th-century BC, signed by the painter Onesimos and the potter Euphronios as potter, looted from the Etruscan site of Cerveteri; a torso of the god Mithra from the 2nd-century AD, and the head of a youth by the Greek sculptor Polykleitos.[14]

On September 26, 2007, Sarcona Center signed a contract with the Italian culture minister, Francesco Rutelli, to return arts stolen from Italy. Forty ancient art works will be returned including: the 5th century BC Aphrodite limestone and marble statue, in 2010; fresco paintings stolen from Pompeii, marble and bronze sculptures and Greek vases. Dr. Marion True (former curator) is on trial in Italy on conspiracy charges in the looting.[15]

Selected collection highlights

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Getty Center.

References

  1. ^ a b "The J. Paul Getty Trust (Getty Trust)". Getty.edu. 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
  2. ^ "Forbes - Travel Information and Travel News - Forbes.com". Forbestraveler.com. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
  3. ^ "Visit the Getty". Getty.edu. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
  4. ^ McGill, Douglas C. (March 4, 1987). "Getty, The Art World's Big Spender". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  5. ^ "Collection (Getty Museum)". J. Paul Getty Museum.
  6. ^ "Getty Bookmarks". J. Paul Getty Museum.
  7. ^ "GettyGuide (Visit the Getty)". Getty Center.
  8. ^ Men's Vogue, Nov/Dec 2006, Vol. 2, No. 3, pg. 46.
  9. ^ Felch, Jason; Frammolino, Ralph (December 29, 2006). "Getty lets her take fall, ex-curator says". LA Times. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  10. ^ "$1.5 mn Macedonian Gold Wreath Attracts Greek Populace". elitechoice.org. 2007-03-30.
  11. ^ Ariel, David (2007-08-01). "Getty to Return Antiquities to Italy". Forbes.
  12. ^ Povoledo, Elisabetta (2007-07-04). "In a Tug of War, Ancient Statue Is Symbol of Patrimony". NY Times.
  13. ^ "Getty will return Aphrodite statue if it has origins in Italy". North County Times. 2006-11-22.
  14. ^ Slayman, Andrew (May/June 1999). "Getty Returns Italian Artifacts". Archaeology. 52 (3). {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Willey, David (2007-09-25). "Getty to hand back 'looted art'". BBC.
  • Getty website
  • J. Paul Getty Museum website
  • The Getty Museum under construction and after opening
  • Getty Villa construction records, 1960, 1964, 1968-1986, undated (bulk 1971-1974) The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, California. Correspondence, reports from the architects and builders, legal and financial documents, blueprints and models, photos, printed matter and oral histories, dating 1960, 1964, 1968–1986, undated (bulk 1971-1974) concern the design and construction of the J. Paul Getty Museum (Villa).
  • Guest scholar and conservator files, 1978-2005 The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, California. The records comprise files relating to J. Paul Getty Museum guest scholars, visiting conservators and general program files, dating 1978-1996, in addition to photograph albums dating 1979-2005.
  • Library Inventory and accession records, 1954-1965, 1977 The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, California. The records comprise inventories, lists, and accession records from the museum and library, listing J. Paul Getty's personal books and furniture in the museum, reference books in the library, and books purchased for the library of the J. Paul Getty Museum, from 1954 to 1965, and 1977.
  • Records, 1975-1999 The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, California. These records were generated by the J. Paul Getty Trust Publications offices and departments and its related Editorial Committee during the course of day-to-day operations.
  • Registrar correspondence, 1973-1975 The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, California. The records comprise internal and external correspondence from Pamela Wiget, Registrar of the J. Paul Getty Museum from 1973-1975.

34°04′39″N 118°28′30″W / 34.07750°N 118.47500°W / 34.07750; -118.47500

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