Many types of plastic used in artworks are now beginning to exhibit serious signs of deterioration – discoloration, crazing and cracking, warping, becoming sticky, and in extreme cases, turning completely to powder. The sheer number of plastics available constitutes a huge challenge for the conservation profession.
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A 2,400-year-old comedy. One week to work on it. Oh yeah—and it’s a musical. The Getty Villa is a hotbed of new ideas about very old theater. In the new Villa Play-Reading Series, translations and adaptations of classical plays...
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Today’s school teachers have a wealth of pressures. Not only do they tackle the day-to-day challenges of balancing good teaching with classroom management, but they must also meet the demands of high-stakes standardized testing—and, more recently, face the threat...
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When eight colleagues from Jordan’s Department of Antiquities (DoA) came to the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) in early April, they had only an inkling of what was in store. Sure, they knew they were going to be trained on...
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This spring the Museum is offering a feast of tours and courses about food in art. Nancy Real and Lilit Sadoyan, two gallery teachers, agreed to give me a taste. We went straight to the magnificent Machine d’argent by...
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During the late 19th century, John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) was the most fashionable portrait painter in England and the United States. An example of his iconic style, his Portrait of Thérése, countess Clary Aldringen (1896) is now on view...
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More than any other exhibition I’ve worked on, Leonardo da Vinci and the Art of Sculpture: Inspiration and Invention feels historic. To stand there as the crate containing Leonardo’s painting of Saint Jerome from the Vatican was opened, to...
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The Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) is a tool for cataloging and retrieving art information. It is being translated into several languages. Our friend and colleague Lina Nagel (manager of the AAT Spanish translation project) at the Centro...
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Objects you see in the galleries at the Getty Villa, whether monumental or miniature, weighing a few ounces or several tons, all require careful and complicated work to install. As a conservation mount maker, I’ve just finished working with...
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Wednesday, March 17, 9:50 a.m. That’s it. I’ve just walked the last courier to the South Gate shuttle point and said good-bye, and am going back to the museum. There’s a delicious smell coming from the wisteria, and the...
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The USB microscope: portable, high-tech, and high-powered.
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Discovery of a cryptic message while reuniting an ancient head and body.
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