All Posts by David Brafman and Lisa Cambier

David Brafman I've been the rare books curator at the Getty Research Institute since 2002. Before decamping from N.Y. to L.A., I was an adjunct professor in the NYU Classics Department and resident-expert at H.P. Kraus, Rare Books and Manuscripts, one of the world's leading dealers in rare books and manuscripts from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment. I came to that circuitous career path by getting a Ph.D. in classics and Arabic from Duke University (and the irresistible urge to head straight back to N.Y. the second I finished my doctorate). Besides being the rare books curator at the GRI, I'm also the curator in charge of filling the Plaza Display Case, which doesn't mean that I always curate the display myself. In fact, we welcome ideas, suggestions, and proposals for displays that highlight objects from the GRI special collections. I did happen to co-curate the current rotation on display in collaboration with my colleague in Collection Development, Lisa Cambier. Lisa Cambier I'm a staff assistant in Collection Development at the Getty Research Institute, meaning I get to work closely with the curators (including rare books curator David Brafman) on a multitude of projects, from filing reports to examining rare 16th-century books and manuscripts. I graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a bachelor’s degree in art history and earned my M.A. in Art Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York. In the course of conducting research for my M.A. thesis, I learned about the relevant work being done here at the GRI, which sparked my desire to return to sunny California.