On June 16, 2021, Christie’s auctioned “Women in Art” in Paris, the first auction of works by female artists. The most notable one was the Getty Museum’s acquisition of the 1783 work “Portrait of Madame Charles Mitoire with Her Children” by Fresh female artist Adélaïde Labille-Guiard. The work ended up selling for a high price of $64,000, breaking the artist’s record price.
Founder Jean Paul Getty
Paul Getty, founder of the Getty Museum, was born in 1892. His father George Getty was an insurance lawyer. When Getty was 10 years old, his father went to Bartlesville, Oklahoma to buy rights to the land, and around that time, George built an oil well to produce crude oil. In 1914, Getty used his father’s $10,000 to invest in oil fields in Oklahoma and the field he purchased had oil in 1915, making him a millionaire. In 1919, his assets had increased to approximately 3 million U.S Dollars.
He continued to work hard to expand his business in the years that followed, expanding steadily during the Great Depression, buying several oil companies and founding Getty Oil in 1942. He owned about 200 companies, including Getty Oil, and in 1957, Fortune Magazine called him the richest man in America. J. Paul Getty finally passed away in 1976, and his estate exceeded $6 billion. In addition, Getty is also a collector. He loved art and antiques, founded art galleries, and J. Paul Getty Thrust, an organization dedicated to promoting the arts. Getty was married and divorced five times and had five children in total; however, he didn’t have the best relationship with his family. In 1973, his 16 year old grandson, John Paul Getty III, was kidnapped by the Italian mafia and ordered to pay a ransom of $17 million. However, due to his grandson’s bad character, Getty and the police initially believed that he was asking for the money himself. At the same time, Getty believed that once the money was paid, other family members would be in danger of being kidnapped, so he was unwilling. After a few months, the Italian mafia still didn’t receive the money, so they cut off one of the grandson’s ears as a warning. If they did not receive $3.2 million within ten days, they would proceed to the next step. After Getty knew that he was really kidnapped by the mafia, he was only willing to pay $2.2 million and lent his son Getty II a loan of $1 million to be repaid later. After several negotiations, his grandson was rescued. In 2017, this entire incident was made into a movie “All the money in the World”. Although his grandson was finally rescued, the abduction caused great psychological harm and he began to consume a lot of alcohol and drugs. He died of a stroke at the age of 54.
Paul Getty Museum
The full name of the Getty Museum is J. Paul Getty Museum and is located in Los Angeles, California. It took about 14 years and cost about $1.3 billion. It was designed by the American architect, Richard Meier. The Getty Museum currently has two sites, the Getty Center in LA and the Getty Villa in Malibu. It is still one of the most popular art galleries and the tickets are free! The Getty mainly consists of Western art after the Middle Ages such as objects made in France during the reign of Louis XIV-16, Leonardo Da Vinci’s manuscripts “Studies for the Christ Child with a Lamb” and “Head of an Old Man, and Studies of Machinery”, “The Annunciation”, “ Jeanne (Spring)” by Édouard Manet, and “Irises” by Van Gogh (1889). The Getty Villa mainly displays ancient Greek and Roman artworks, including: the statue of Victorious Youth from ancient Greece, “Statue of a Victorious Youth”, and the two-eared bottle, “Attic Panathenaic Amphora”, from Athens, Greece. Getty’s collection is extensive, and paintings, sketches, sculptures, manuscripts, installation works, photography, etc. are all collection items. It has a collection of approximately 44,000 works of art, 1,200 of which have been exhibited. The extensive collection is known as one of the largest private museums in the world.
The museum is dedicated to promoting art. They have proposed scholarships, lectures, and courses, hoping to allow interested people and researchers to visit and allow the public to understand the importance of art in our societies. They have their own team that regularly inspects and restores art collections and at the same time, is committed to researching new maintenance methods, and working with national institutions. Currently, the Getty Museum is mainly managed by the J. Paul Getty Trust, which includes the board of trustees and the board of directors. They are responsible for management, investment, professional goals, and charity-related policies, as well as selecting senior citizens and CEO’s, and allocating salaries.
Compared to the 2019 annual project, the budget for 2020 has actually been much smaller, mainly due to the impact of Covid-19. Since the outbreak began, the Getty has also used a $10 million fund to support nonprofit galleries and visual arts organizations in LA.
Figure 1: All the Money in the World
Figure 2 upper left: Getty Villa gardens © Bobak Ha'Eri Wiki Commons
Figure 2 lower left: Courtesy Richard meier & partners architects ©scott frances esto
Figure 2 upper right: Rembrandt, An Old Man in Military Costume, 1630 ©Google Cultural Institute
Figure 2 lower right: Vincent van Gogh, Irises, 1889. Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program.
