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Ironically, J. Paul Getty never saw the Getty Villa. He died two years after his museum opened to the public in January 1974 in a new building modeled on an ancient Roman luxury home.
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Getty Villa.
| Collection size | 44,000 Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities |
| Visitors | 453,902 (2016) |
| Director | Timothy Potts |
Did Getty ever live at the Getty Villa?
While Getty never visited his Villa, his legacy continues to endure. From his architectural choices to the objects he collected, his twentieth-century history blends with that of ancient times, yielding stories that captivate us even today.
Where did J. Paul Getty live?
MinneapolisJ. Paul Getty / Places lived
Where did J. Paul Getty live in Los Angeles?
The Getty House is the official residence of the mayor of Los Angeles, California. It is located at 605 South Irving Boulevard in Windsor Square, a historic district east of Hancock Park, about five miles west of the Los Angeles City Hall.
Who owns the Getty Villa?
Paul Getty Museum, which has two locations – the Getty Center in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and the Getty Villa in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles....The J. Paul Getty Trust's logo (designed by Saul Bass in 1993)Founded1953Endowment$7.7 billion (as of 2020)Websitewww.getty.edu5 more rows
Who is the richest Getty today?
In 1957, Fortune magazine named him the richest living American, while the 1966 Guinness Book of Records named him as the world's richest private citizen, worth an estimated $1.2 billion (approximately $7.5 billion in 2020)....Jean Paul Getty Sr.J. Paul GettyOccupationBusinessman9 more rows
How much is the Getty Villa Worth?
And a few more highlights: LACMA comes in at 12 ($622 million) and the Getty Villa is at number 15 ($496 million).
Where did J. Paul Getty live in California?
J. Paul Getty Museum, Ranch House, 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, Los Angeles County, CA | Library of Congress.
Who owns Getty Oil Now?
Getty Petroleum Marketing was sold to Lukoil in 2000, and Lukoil sold it to Cambridge Securities LLC in February 2011. Getty Petroleum filed for bankruptcy protection (Chapter 11) on December 5, 2011.
Who did John Paul Getty leave his fortune to?
Getty, who died in 1976, left the bulk of his estate to the Getty Museum, but his children inherited billions through a trust with interests in Getty Oil; it was later split up when son Gordon Getty orchestrated the sale of Getty Oil to Texaco in the late 1980s.
Who lived in Getty Villa?
The collection has 44,000 Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities dating from 6,500 BC to 400 AD, including the Lansdowne Heracles and the Victorious Youth....Getty Villa.TypeArt museumCollection size44,000 Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquitiesVisitors453,902 (2016)DirectorTimothy Potts8 more rows
What is the difference between Getty Center and Getty Villa?
Getty has two locations—one in the hills, one near the ocean The Getty Center, located in Brentwood, showcases European art amid modern architecture and bird's-eye views of Los Angeles. The Getty Villa Museum lies along the coast and displays ancient Greek and Roman art in a recreated Roman house.
Where does the Getty family live?
Balthazar Getty He is also a musician and is part of indie band Ringside. He married fashion designer Rosetta Millington in 2000 and they have four children together. In 2008, he had a highly-publicised affair with actress Sienna Miller, but later reconciled with his wife. They live together in the Hollywood hills.
Where did Paul Getty live in UK?
Paul Getty, then the world's richest private citizen, who spent the last 17 years of his life there....Sutton Place, Surrey.Sutton PlaceTypeManor houseLocationWoking, SurreyCoordinates51°16′19″N 0°33′03″WBuiltc.152516 more rows
Where does the Getty family live?
Balthazar Getty He is also a musician and is part of indie band Ringside. He married fashion designer Rosetta Millington in 2000 and they have four children together. In 2008, he had a highly-publicised affair with actress Sienna Miller, but later reconciled with his wife. They live together in the Hollywood hills.
Why did John Paul Getty live in England?
Mr Getty, 65, has lived in Britain since 1972 when he moved from Italy following the drugs-related death of his second wife, Talitha Pol. At the time, his own health was under threat from the drugs which were part of his lifestyle.
Are the Getty family still wealthy?
An avid collector, his penchant for antiquities and art was later displayed in the J. Paul Getty Museum, in LA, and he left around $66million (£463.3million) to the museum after his death. At the time of his death, in 1976, he is thought to have been worth $6billion (£4.2billion).
What is the Getty Villa?
The Getty Villa offers special educational programs for children. A special Family Forum gallery offers activities including decorating Greek vases and projecting shadows onto a screen that represents a Greek urn. The room also has polystyrene props from Greek and Roman culture for children to handle and use to cast shadows. The Getty Villa also offers children's guides to the other exhibits.
What does the Getty Villa achieve?
Writing in 2008, the architectural critic Calum Storrie described the overall effect: What the Getty Villa achieves, first by seclusion, then by control of access, and ultimately through the architecture, is a sense of detachment from its immediate environment.
What is the Getty Conservation Institute?
The Getty Conservation Institute offers a Master's Program in Archaeological and Ethnographic Conservation in association with the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA. Classes and research are conducted in the museum wing of the ranch house. The program was the first of its kind in the United States.
When was the Getty Villa reopened?
Reopened on January 28, 2006, the Getty Villa shows Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities within Roman-inspired architecture and surrounded by Roman-style gardens. The art is arranged by themes, e.g., Gods and Goddesses, Dionysos and the Theater, and Stories of the Trojan War.
How big is the garden at Villa dei Papiri?
The largest garden is that of the Outer Peristyle, an exact proportional replica of the one at the Villa dei Papiri. The garden is 308 by 105 feet (94 m × 32 m), with a 220 feet (67 m) long pool at the center.
Who designed the Getty Villa?
In 1993, the Getty Trust selected the Boston architects Rodolfo Machado and Jorge Silvetti to design a renovation of the Getty Villa and its campus.
Did the Getty return to Greece?
There has been controversy surrounding the Greek and Italian governments' claim that objects in the collection were looted and should be repatriated. In 2006, the Getty returned or promised to return four looted objects to Greece: a stele (grave marker), a marble relief, a gold funerary wreath, and a marble statue. In 2007, the Getty signed an agreement to return 40 looted items to Italy.
Where is Paul Getty's Malibu Villa?
In the early 70s, he had a Romanesque villa constructed next to his house to be a permanent museum for his collection. The Malibu Villa, modeled after the partially excavated Villa dei Papiri in Italy, became the home of the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1974. In 1997, the Getty Villa was closed and the collection was relocated to ...
What is the Getty Villa?
The Getty Villa houses the Museum’s antiquities collection, focusing on Greek, Roman and Etruscan artifacts. The exhibit areas are organized thematically, which allows you to compare the different styles used across time and place. For example, the Stories of the Trojan War display contains any item that made reference to Achilles, whether on an Etruscan Vase, a Roman sarcophagus or a stone likeness of the Greek hero. There is a little bit of overlap or overflow of themes. Hercules/Herakles has his own Temple and appears also in the Mythological Heroes gallery.#N#There is a lot to see, which can lead to museum fatigue, so plan your visit to see what interests you most first.#N#Downstairs Galleries:
How many children can you bring to the Getty Villa?
Each adult tickets may bring up to 3 children 15 and under in the same car. By Car: The Getty Villa is located at 17985 Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Pacific Palisades (Malibu), just north of the intersection with Sunset Boulevard.
Where is the Getty Villa in Los Angeles?
Address: 17985 Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles.
What is the Getty Center?
The Getty Center and Getty Villa are as much about the architecture as the art collection. Like much art, they are better appreciated with an understanding of their creators’ intentions. Knowing the architects' concept of re-imagining the site as an archaeological dig, puts otherwise incongruous details in context. Oddly placed walls in the Entry Pavilion overlooking the Villa to one side and a concrete courtyard below re-create the sense of looking down into the dig pit - if you know that's what it's supposed to represent.
When did the Getty Villa reopen?
After a nine-year, $275 million renovation and expansion, the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa re-opened in 2006 as home to the Museum’s Antiquities Collection. The Villa and gardens are familiar to those who visited in the past. The original building was stripped down to the bare framework and re-built as an earthquake-resistant, ...
Who designed the Malibu Villa?
J. Paul Getty modeled the Malibu Villa after the Villa dei Papiri in Herculenium near Pompeii. Only part of the villa was excavated, but from floor plans, architects were able to recreate the dimensions of the ancient Roman villa. Details of floor and wall designs come from several other Greek and Roman edifices.
How much did Paul Getty own?
Nonetheless, at the time of his death he owned more than 600 items valued at more than $4 million, including paintings by Rubens, Titian, Gainsborough, Renoir, Tintoretto, Degas, and Monet.
What did Paul Getty collect?
Getty's first forays into collecting began in the late 1930s, when he took inspiration from the collection of 18th-century French paintings and furniture owned by the landlord of his New York City penthouse, Amy Guest, a relation of Sir Winston Churchill. A fan of 18th-century France, Getty began buying furniture from the period at reduced prices because of the depressed art market. He wrote several books on collecting, including Europe and the 18th Century (1949), Collector's Choice: The Chronicle of an Artistic Odyssey through Europe (1955) and The Joys of Collecting (1965). His stinginess limited the range of his collecting because he refused to pay full price. Getty's companion in later life, Penelope Kitson, said "Paul was really too mean ever to allow himself to buy a great painting." Nonetheless, at the time of his death he owned more than 600 items valued at more than $4 million, including paintings by Rubens, Titian, Gainsborough, Renoir, Tintoretto, Degas, and Monet. During the 1950s, Getty's interests shifted to Greco-Roman sculpture, which led to the building of the Getty Villa in the 1970s to house the collection. These items were transferred to the Getty Museum and the Getty Villa in Los Angeles after his death.
What was the name of the trust that Getty family created?
In 1936, Getty's mother convinced him to contribute to the establishment of a $3.3 million investment trust, called the Sarah C. Getty Trust, to ensure the family's ever-growing wealth could be channeled into a tax-free, secure income for future generations of the Getty family.
How many times did Getty divorce?
Getty agreed to a settlement of $10,000, upon which Eckstrom left town with the baby. Getty was married and divorced five times. He had five sons with four of his wives: Jeanette Demont (married 1923 – divorced 1926); one son, George F. Getty II (1924–1973). Allene Ashby (1926–1928); no children.
Why did Getty have penny pinching?
Author John Pearson attributed part of Getty's extreme penny-pinching to the Methodist sensibility of Getty's upbringing, which emphasized modest living and personal economy. His business acumen was also a major factor in Getty's thriftiness. "He would allow himself no self-indulgence in the purchase of a place to live, a work of art, even a piece of furniture, unless he could convince himself that it would appreciate in value." Getty claimed his frugality towards others was a response to people taking advantage of him and not paying their fair share. "It's not the money I object to, it's the principle of the thing that bothers me ..."
Why did Getty have a payphone installed at Sutton Place?
Getty famously had a payphone installed at Sutton Place, helping to seal his reputation as a miser. Getty placed dial-locks on all the regular telephones, limiting their use to authorized staff, and the coin-box telephone was installed for others. In his autobiography, he described his reasons:
What did Getty learn?
A love of the classics led Getty to acquire reading proficiency in Ancient Greek and Latin. He enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, but did not complete a degree. Enamored of Europe after traveling abroad with his parents in 1910, Getty enrolled at the University of Oxford on November 28, 1912.
Where did Getty buy his villa?
Little-known fact: Before Getty commissioned a villa for his property in Malibu, he bought a couple in Italy : La Posta Vecchia at Palo, Ladispoli, and a villa on the island of Gaiola, just off the coast of Naples. In the process of rebuilding La Posta Vecchia, which was in ruins when Getty purchased it, ancient Roman ruins were found and Getty had a small museum built on-site to showcase them. Today the villa is a luxury hotel; the museum is open to registered guests and visitors by appointment.
Where did Getty buy his property?
Getty bought 64 acres of property in Malibu (now Pacific Palisades) in 1945, which included a ranch-style home. He converted that house into a two-story Spanish-style residence, including galleries to display his art collection. He used it for weekend getaways.
What did Getty collect?
Getty collected in specific areas of art, limiting his acquisitions to schools “that [he] liked best and interested [him] most,” and that satisfied his desire to “own a few choice pieces [rather] than amass an agglomeration of second-rate items.” These areas were: “Greek and Roman marbles and bronzes; Renaissance paintings; sixteenth-century Persian carpets; Savonnerie carpets and eighteenth-century French furniture and tapestries.”
What questions do visitors ask at the Getty Center?
Not surprisingly, visitors to the Getty Center or Getty Villa often leave with many of the same questions: How did he make his money? Why did he collect art? Did he buy all of this art himself? Did he have a hand in creating the Villa? The Center? Wasn’t he really cheap?
What did Getty think of art?
He delighted in a bargain, but he was also deeply interested in the technical quality of artworks and their provenance: “Exploring their whys and wherefores is exciting—as exciting as collecting itself.” He “never liked to follow the crowd” and felt “annoyed by the importance given to paintings by the majority of people.” Perhaps owing to his enjoyment of house museums, he believed that paintings and sculpture “should be displayed in surroundings of equal quality.”
What is the Getty Museum?
The Getty Museum’s collection has since expanded to also include manuscripts, drawings, and photography. And the newer Getty Research Institute, founded in 1985, collects in a vast variety of areas including historic archives, artists’ books and letters, prints, rare books, and photographs. But Getty’s personal influence on the collection is still apparent in our galleries. Next time you’re at the Getty Center, check out a mobile tour that highlights 11 artworks from each of Getty’s favored collecting areas that he acquired during his life.
What did Getty Oil do in the 1940s?
In the late 1940s, he negotiated a 30-year oil concession in the “Neutral Zone” between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, meaning Getty Oil had exclusive rights to prospect for oil in the area. This was a huge risk at the time—oil had never been found there—and it paid off magnificently in the 1950s. Getty steered his company to become a global conglomerate that handled all aspects of oil production, from exploration to shipping. (His business ventures also included hotels and a company that manufactured mobile homes.) In 1957, Fortune magazine named him the “Richest Man in the World.”
Where was Jean Paul Getty born?
Jean Paul Getty was born December 15, 1892 in Minneapolis to George F. Getty and Sarah C. Macpherson Risher and raised as an only child. He was introduced to the oil business by his lawyer father, who, taken by "oil fever," had moved the family to Oklahoma in 1904. Two years later they settled in Los Angeles.
When did Paul Getty start his art collection?
Throughout his adult life, he took greater and greater steps to make art available for the public’s education and enjoyment. Starting in 1948, he gave significant pieces from his personal collection to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In 1953, he established the J. Paul Getty Museum Trust.
What did Getty do as a child?
Getty’s education in the oil business began as a child, as did his collecting habit. Noncomformist by nature, Getty took calculated risks in both business and art collecting. His desire to increase the public’s access to art would lead him to turn the museum he started in his ranch house into the world’s largest cultural and philanthropic institution dedicated to the visual arts.
How many times did Getty marry?
He was always suspicious of conventional wisdom in business, art, and life. He married five times and had five sons. In his autobiographical writings, he proclaimed himself a failure at marriage.
What did Getty do as a teenager?
As a teenager he acquired small pieces of Asian art while touring Asia with his parents.
How old was Getty when he became a millionaire?
By the age of 23, Getty had enjoyed so much success as a wildcatter that he had become a millionaire. In May 1916, Getty Oil Company was incorporated as a father–son partnership.
Why did Getty donate to museums?
Though Getty delighted in the tax deductions that accrued when he donated art to museums, he also demonstrated a genuine desire to share art with the public. That desire may have been inspired by his mother’s will, which stated that, should her grandsons not have children, a Getty Art Foundation be established to fund the "advancement and promotion of the fine arts."
Who was the one true love of Getty's life?
Burch’s introduction to Getty’s harem drew the “undisguised fury” of Tessier and d’Abo, “each of whom claimed to be the one true love of Getty’s life,” according to The House of Getty. “Kitson, who would be witness to much of the brawling between these three ladies in the years to come, had no time for any of them.
Who plays Paul Getty in Trust?
During Sunday’s premiere of FX’s Trust, a teenage Paul Getty ( Harris Dickinson ) arrives at the sprawling Sutton Place estate belonging to his grandfather J. Paul Getty ( Donald Sutherland ), then the richest man in the world.
How many women did Getty have in his will?
When Getty died in 1976, he named 12 women in his will. Kitson received the largest inheritance: 5,000 Getty oil shares valued at $826,500, plus $1,167 a month for life. Tessier received 2,500 shares valued at $413,125, plus $750 a month for life, while ladies d’Abo and Burch received smaller lump sums.
How many times did Getty divorce?
Getty had married and divorced five times, but the serial philander eventually realized that casual sex came at a better value. “It took up far less time, cost less, was infinitely less demanding, and actually added to one’s prowess as a businessman,” wrote Pearson.
Who is the only real female companion of Getty?
One of the only real-life female companions of Getty’s to be name-checked in FX’s Trust is Penelope Kitson—and that might be because Kitson was the smartest of the bunch, refusing to get romantic with him. (From left to right) Prince Massimo, Penelope Kitson. and J. Paul Getty in 1955. By Evening Standard/Getty Images.
Did Getty have a document before sex?
Savvy businessman that he was, Getty also allegedly presented women with a document before having sex that absolved him from any financial responsibility should they became pregnant. Getty seemed to have traded women like he did oil stocks—rotating an assortment of female companions through his Sutton Place estate.
Who was the interior decorator for Getty's oil tankers?
Getty hired Kitson as the interior decorator of his many properties and to occasionally christen Getty’s oil tankers. He housed her in a cottage on Sutton Place’s 700-acre grounds. Though Getty was famously distant with his sons, he hosted a 1964 debutante ball for Kitson’s daughter, Jessica, and 700 of her friends that featured an extravagant buffet and lasted until sunrise.
Who owns the Getty Villa?
Paul Getty purchased a home on 64 seaside acres in Malibu, California, which he filled with a growing art collection.
How much was JP Getty worth when he died?
At his death in 1976, he was worth more than $6 billion.
Did J Paul Getty pay the ransom for his grandson?
John Paul Getty refused to pay a ransom for his grandson at first, declaring, I have 14 other grandchildren. He was expelled, however, and even though his father left Rome for England shortly afterward (following Talitha Getty’s heroin overdose) the teenaged Getty III continued living on his own in the Italian city.
Who is the richest Getty alive?
J. Paul died at his Surrey mansion in 1976 at the ripe old age of 83, leaving a fortune of $4 billion, which is $17.3 billion (£12.7bn) in today’s money. Most of this was channelled into the J. Paul Getty Trust, which is now the world’s wealthiest art institution.
Is Nats Getty male or female?
Nats Getty (born Natalia Williams; November 30, 1992) is an American model, socialite, designer, artist and LGBTQ rights activist.
How many Getty heirs are left?
At the time of his death in 1976, Getty was survived by three of his five sons, 16 grandchildren, one great-grandchild, five ex-wives, and many mistresses.
Who owns Sutton Place now?
Paul Getty, then the world’s richest private citizen, who spent the last 17 years of his life there. Its current owner is the Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov.
Overview
History
In 1954, oil tycoon J. Paul Getty opened a gallery adjacent to his home in Pacific Palisades. Quickly running out of room, he built a second museum, the Getty Villa, on the property down the hill from the original gallery. The villa design was inspired by the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum and incorporated additional details from several other ancient sites. It was designed by architects Robert E…
Facility and programs
The Getty Villa hosts live performances in both its indoor auditorium and its outdoor theatre. Indoor play-readings included The Trojan Women, Aristophanes' The Frogs, and Euripides' Helen. Indoor musical performances, which typically relate to art exhibits, included: Musica Angelica, De Organographia, and Songs from the Fifth Age: Sones de México in Concert. Th…
Campus
The Villa self-identifies with Malibu as it is located just east of the city limits of Malibu in the city of Los Angeles in the community of Pacific Palisades. The 64 acres (26 ha) museum complex sits on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean, which is about 100 feet (30 m) from the entrance to the property. An outdoor 2,500-square-foot (230 m ) entry pavilion is also built into the hill near the 248-…
Collection
The collection has 44,000 Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities dating from 6,500 BC to 400 AD, of which approximately 1,400 are on view.
Among the outstanding items is Victorious Youth, one of few life-size Greek bronze statues to have survived to modern times. The Lansdowne Heracles is a Hadrianic Roman sculpture in the manner of Lysippus. The Villa also has jewelry and coin collections and an extensive 20,000 volu…
See also
• Camillo Paderni described parts the Villa of the Papyri
External links
• Getty.edu: official Getty Villa website
• Getty.edu: J. Paul Getty Trust website
• J Paul Getty Museum – GNIS data
• Vimeo.com: four-part documentary video about the Getty Villa and its Roman model, the Villa of the Papyri
Overview
Jean Paul Getty Sr. was an American-born British petroleum industrialist who founded the Getty Oil Company in 1942 and was the patriarch of the Getty family. A native of Minneapolis, he was the son of pioneer oilman George Getty. In 1957, Fortune magazine named him the richest living American, while the 1966 Guinness Book of Records named him as the world's richest private citizen, wo…
Early life and education
Getty was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Sarah Catherine McPherson (Risher) and George Getty, who was an attorney in the insurance industry. Getty was raised as a Methodist by his parents; his father was a devout Christian Scientist, and both were strict teetotalers. He was of part Scottish descent. In 1903, when Getty was 10 years old, George Getty traveled to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and bought the mineral rights for 1,100 acres of land. The Getty family subsequently …
Career
In the autumn of 1914, George Getty gave his son $10,000 to invest in expanding the family's oil field holdings in Oklahoma. The first lot he bought, the Nancy Taylor No. 1 Oil Well Site near Haskell, Oklahoma, was crucial to his early financial success. The well struck oil in August 1915 and by the next summer the 40 percent net production royalty he accrued from it had made him a millionaire.
Marriages, divorces and children
Getty was a notorious womanizer from the time of his youth, something that horrified his conservative Christian parents. His lawyer, Robin Lund, once said that, "Paul could hardly ever say 'no' to a woman, or 'yes' to a man." Lord Beaverbrook had called him "Priapic" and "ever-ready" in his sexual habits.
In 1917, when he was 25, a paternity suit was filed against Getty in Los Angeles by Elsie Eckstro…
Kidnapping of grandson John Paul Getty III
In Rome on July 10, 1973, 'Ndrangheta kidnappers abducted Getty's 16-year-old grandson, John Paul Getty III, and demanded a $17 million (equivalent to $104 million in 2021) payment for his safe return. However, the family suspected a ploy by the rebellious teenager to extract money from his miserly grandfather. John Paul Getty Jr. asked his father for the money, but was refused, arguing that his 13 other grandchildren could also become kidnap targets if he paid.
Reputation for frugality
Many anecdotal stories exist of Getty's reputed thriftiness and parsimony, which struck observers as comical, even perverse, because of his extreme wealth. The two most widely known examples are his reluctance to pay his grandson's $17 million kidnapping ransom, and a notorious pay-phone he had installed at Sutton Place. A darker incident was his fifth wife's claim that Getty had scolded her for spending too much on their terminally ill son's medical treatment, though he wa…
Later years and death
On June 30, 1960, Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relative of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly purchased Sutton Place. Party goers were irritated by Getty's stinginess, such as not providing cigarettes and relegating everyone to using creosote portable toilets outside. At about 10 p.m. the party descended into pandemonium as party crashers arrived from London, swelling the already overcrowded halls and causing an esti…
Media portrayals
Christopher Plummer portrayed Getty in the 2017 film All the Money in the World, which dramatizes the kidnapping of his grandson. Getty was originally portrayed by Kevin Spacey, but after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced against Spacey ahead of the film's premiere, Plummer was cast to re-film his scenes. For his performance, Plummer received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Getty Made His Fortune in Oil Not Once, But Many Times over.
as A Collector He appreciated Classical Beauty and Art displayed in context.
- Getty started seriously collecting art in the 1930s, but he was a lifelong collector. As a child, he collected marbles and stamps, and wrote about them in his diaries. (Keeping a record of his daily activities, including his art collecting, was a lifelong habit.) Art collecting was a common practice among Getty’s wealthy peers like William Randolph Hearst and Norton Simon. And while Getty e…
He Never Visited The Getty Villa Or The Getty Center.
- Getty bought 64 acres of property in Malibu (now Pacific Palisades) in 1945, which included a ranch-style home. He converted that house into a two-story Spanish-style residence, including galleries to display his art collection. He used it for weekend getaways. In 1954 the galleries of the Ranch House were opened to the public as the original J. Pa...
Want to Learn More?
- For the details on Getty’s life in his own words, check out his autobiography: As I See It.
- For a sample of Getty’s thoughts on art, see The Joys of Collecting.
- Want to know more about the development of the Getty Center or Villa? Take a look into our Institutional Archives, and see Inside the Getty and the Guide to the Getty Villa.