Getty Museum announces acquisition of rare early Renaissance drawing attributed to Piero del Pollaiuolo

LOS ANGELES, CA.- The J. Paul Getty Museum today announced the acquisition at auction of Portrait of a Young Man, Head and Shoulders, Wearing a Cap, drawn about 1470, attributed to Piero del Pollaiuolo (c. 1443-1496). The drawing, from the early Florence Renaissance, is extremely rare, and is the first portrait drawing of this period to be included in the Getty’s permanent collection. Its acquisition by the Getty will allow it to be put on public display for likely the first time [...]

The J. Paul Getty Museum presents exhibition of memorable images of Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, CA.- As part of the region-wide Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A., 1945-1980 initiative, The J. Paul Getty Museum presents In Focus: Los Angeles, 1945–1980, an exhibition of photographs from the permanent collection made by artists whose time in Los Angeles inspired them to create memorable images of the city, on view at the Getty Center from December 20, 2011 – May 6, 2012. “This exhibition features both iconic and relatively unknown work by artists whose careers are defined by their [...]

Getty Museum presents “Gothic Grandeur”: Manuscript illumination, 1200-1350

LOS ANGELES, CA.- The term “Gothic” evokes visions of soaring spires, graceful flying buttresses, and sparkling stained glass. It also represents an important style of manuscript illumination that dominated the High Middle Ages in Europe. Drawing primarily from the Getty Museum’s permanent collection, Gothic Grandeur: Manuscript Illumination, 1200–-1350, on display December 13, 2011–-May 13, 2012, at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Getty Center, celebrates the achievements of Gothic manuscript illumination in Europe. The exhibition also spotlights two new acquisitions: the Abbey Bible, considered [...]

J. Paul Getty Museum announces acquisition of rare Francesco Primaticcio bronze

LOS ANGELES, CA.- The J. Paul Getty Museum has acquired a rare bronze female double head attributed to Francesco Primaticcio (Bologna, 1504–Paris, 1570). Created in France in about 1543, Double Head is closely related to the head of the so-called Cesi Juno, one of the most famous antique marble statues in 16th-century Rome, a work that Michelangelo considered the most beautiful object in Rome. Female double heads are unusual both in classical and post-classical sculpture. Though its original purpose is not known, Double [...]

Smithsonian American Art Museum names Tiarna Doherty new Chief Conservator

WASHINGTON, DC.- The Smithsonian American Art Museum welcomes Tiarna Doherty as its new chief conservator. Doherty will be responsible for overseeing the staff and programming at the Lunder Conservation Center. She begins work Nov. 7. “It is my pleasure to welcome Tiarna Doherty to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where her superb experience and intellect will bring creative new energy to the program,” said Elizabeth Broun, The Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Doherty comes to the [...]

The Getty Museum’s Rebecca Taylor Appointed Communications Director at MoMA PS1

NEW YORK, NY.- Klaus Biesenbach, Director of MoMA PS1 and Chief Curator at Large at MoMA, announced that Rebecca Taylor has been appointed Communications Director at MoMA PS1. In this role, Ms. Taylor will manage all communications functions for MoMA PS1, working in close collaboration with Mr. Biesenbach and the Marketing and Communications staff at MoMA. Her duties will include planning, developing, and implementing press strategies and press events; planning, developing, and executing marketing, advertising, and media strategies; overseeing web content [...]

Italian Governor Gian Mario Spacca Wants Shared Custody of Statue with the Getty Museum

LOS ANGELES (AP).- An Italian lawmaker offered a cultural exchange proposal Monday that sounded a little like an ultimatum, saying officials at the J. Paul Getty Museum should behave ethically and return knowingly looted art. Gov. Gian Mario Spacca of the Marche region on the Adriatic Sea made the comment three days after officials at the Southern California museum told him they could not talk about the disputed “Victorious Youth” statue because the case was still in Italian court. Gian [...]

Louvre Presents First Exhibition of Austrian Sculptor Franz Xaver Messerschmidt

PARIS.- For the first time in France, the Louvre presents a monographic exhibition devoted to the Bavarian-born Austrian sculptor Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, active in Vienna and Pressburg (now Bratislava) in the late 18th century. As a court sculptor, Messerschmidt executed portraits of members of the imperial family as well as notable intellectuals of his time, but is most celebrated for his series of violently expressive, bizarre and fascinating “character heads”, whose originality and verve still captivate viewers today. The exhibition [...]

Exhibition of Photographs by Dorothea Lange at Brigham Young University Museum of Art

PROVO, UTAH.- In August 1953, renown American photographer Dorothea Lange traveled to southern Utah where she met up with her long-time friend Ansel Adams. The two photographers spent three weeks photographing the landscape and people of Toquerville, Gunlock and St. George with the intention of publishing the work in LIFE magazine. Lange’s enthusiasm for her subject yielded hundreds of photographs from which she composed an extended essay of 135 photographs, including images by Ansel Adams. Thirty-five of those photographs with text [...]

Getty Museum Displays a Selection of Chinese Photographs Produced Since the 1990s

LOS ANGELEs, CA.- On view at the J. Paul Getty Museum, at the Getty Center, December 7, 2010 —April 24, 2011, Photography from the New China displays a selection of Chinese photographs produced since the 1990s, when People’s Republic leader Deng Xiaoping introduced the current period of Opening and Reform. Photography from the New China is shown concurrently with Felice Beato: A Photographer on the Eastern Road, an exhibition featuring nineteenth-century views of China and other parts of East Asia, [...]

Getty Museum Displays First Survey of Felice Beato’s Long and Varied Photography Career

LOS ANGELES, CA.- —On view at the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Center, December 7, 2010—April 24, 2011, Felice Beato: A Photographer on the Eastern Road will present the first survey of Felice Beato’s (British, born Italy, 1832–1909) long and varied photography career which covered a wide geographical area—from the Middle East to Southeast Asia. This exhibition will run concurrently with Photography from the New China. “In 2007, the Getty Museum acquired a substantial collection of more than 800 [...]

Rare Vintage Photograph by Roger Fenton Saved for Bradford’s National Media Museum

LONDON.- The Art Fund has helped Bradford’s National Media Museum buy a rare vintage photograph by acclaimed British photographer Roger Fenton (1819 – 1869). Pasha and Bayadère depicts a dancing girl (bayadère) performing for the enjoyment of a high ranking official (pasha), who watches her intently. Seated on the floor on the left hand side of the Pasha, a musician plays a stringed instrument. The exotic tableau was taken in 1858. It captures the contemporary fascination with the Orient and [...]

Exhibition on Treatments and Techniques Used to Conserve Rare Works on Paper at the Getty

LOS ANGELES, CA.- Works on paper are inherently more fragile—in terms of sensitivity to light and handling—than mediums such as canvas, panel, bronze, or clay, and often show the passage of time more acutely than their counterparts. Frequent handling by artists in their workshops and later by collectors, combined with poor storage and display conditions, often leads to distracting damage. As a result of their fragility, drawings in the Getty Museum’s collection spend much of their life inside solander boxes in [...]

Getty Announces Exhibition that Recreates a Day in the Life of an 18th Century Parisian Townhouse

LOS ANGELES, CA.- The nation of France, and its capital city of Paris in particular, held a special status in European culture during the 18th century. The upper echelons of societies throughout Europe were predominantly Francophiles— imitating French fashions of dress and furniture in their daily lives. On view in the Exhibitions Pavilion at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center, April 26 through August 7, 2011, Paris: Life & Luxury re-imagines, through art and material culture, the [...]

Ex-J. Paul Getty Museum Curator Marion True’s Trafficking Trial Ends in Italy

ROME (AP).- A Rome judge declared an end Wednesday to the trial of a former J. Paul Getty Museum antiquities curator accused of knowingly acquiring looted art from Italy, citing the expiration of the statute of limitations, defense lawyers said. The 6-year-old case against Marion True was followed with concern by museums worldwide and involved about 35 artifacts acquired by the Los Angeles museum between 1986 and the late 1990s — including bronze Etruscan pieces, frescoes and painted Greek vessels. [...]

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