J. Paul Getty Museum; LA

Based in Los Angeles, Getty is a leading global arts organization founded by businessman and art collector J. Paul Getty. Committed to the exhibition, conservation, and understanding of the world’s artistic heritage, the J. Paul Getty Trust operates two iconic public sites, the Getty Center and the Getty Villa, while also serving as a major philanthropic institution. It pursues its work with partners around the world, sharing art, knowledge, and resources with the public both in person and online.

From Private Collection to Public Museum

J. Paul Getty, who viewed art as a civilizing influence in society, first established the J. Paul Getty Museum Trust in 1953. A year later, he opened a small museum in a section of his Pacific Palisades ranch house to share his growing collection with the public. As the collection outgrew this intimate space, Getty embarked on a more ambitious project: the construction of a large museum on his ranch property, modeled after an ancient Roman villa from Herculaneum. The Getty Villa opened to the public in 1974.

The Creation of a Global Arts Institution

The institution underwent a profound transformation following J. Paul Getty’s death in 1976. His will left the bulk of his estate, nearly $700 million, to the Trust for the “diffusion of artistic and general knowledge.” This monumental bequest allowed the Trust’s leaders to expand the organization’s scope far beyond that of a traditional museum. Between 1982 and 1985, three new entities were established to work alongside the museum: the Getty Research Institute, dedicated to art historical knowledge; the Getty Foundation, which supports art institutions and scholars through grants; and the Getty Conservation Institute, which advances the practice of cultural heritage conservation worldwide.

The Getty Center: A Campus for the Arts

To house the newly expanded organization, construction began in 1987 on the Getty Center, a sprawling 110-acre campus in the Santa Monica Mountains designed by architect Richard Meier. The Center, which opened to the public in 1997, features the Getty Museum, the distinctive Central Garden by artist Robert Irwin, and serves as the home for the Research Institute, Conservation Institute, and Foundation. Upon the Center’s opening, the original Getty Villa was closed for extensive renovations. It reopened in 2006 with a new, specialized mission as a museum and scholarly center dedicated to the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria.

Cultural Leadership and Global Initiatives

In the 21st century, Getty has cemented its role as a cultural leader through ambitious, collaborative projects and a commitment to open access. It has organized several iterations of Pacific Standard Time (now PST ART), an unprecedented series of partnerships with dozens of Southern California institutions to explore wide-ranging artistic themes, from Latin American art to the intersection of art and science. Furthermore, Getty has made its resources widely accessible through its Open Content Program, which provides free use of collection images, and its Virtual Library, which offers hundreds of its scholarly publications for free online.