The premise of The Aztec Pantheon and the Art of Empire is a unique one: that just as classical antiquity colored Spanish perceptions of Mesoamerica, the experience of Aztec civilization piqued curiosity about Renaissance Europe’s own ancient heritage. As...
Read More
When British author Geoff Dyer came to speak at Zócalo Public Square at the Getty Museum, he was prepared to be a bore. “It’s going to be the classic definition,” he said, “the bore, the person who lectures you...
Read More
How do you hold a “secret exhibition”? In 1957, Los Angeles artist George Herms did just that, setting up his assemblage sculptures among the foundation blocks of a row of demolished buildings in Hermosa Beach. The show wasn’t publicized,...
Read More
How do people of different faiths read, interpret, and depict the sacred texts known in the Christian tradition as the Old Testament? Come explore the question with us this Sunday as Reverend Alexei Smith, director of the Office of...
Read More
Off the tram, up the stairs and take a sharp right before going into the main entrance pavilion. Head into the building across from the Cafe. That’s where you’ll usually find the distinctive exhibitions of the Getty Research Institute...
Read More
Spin control—it’s been around for centuries. Louis XIV, king of France from 1660 to 1715, was a master at it, using art—especially the work of his court painter, Charles Le Brun—to create and perpetuate a glorified image of his...
Read More
Helping visitors from across the country get a sense of the cultural landscape of L.A.
Read More
Education is at the heart of a museum’s mission. You want to know what you’re looking at, and we want to tell you—through object labels, audio tours, videos, brochures, Web sites, and public programs. But is this really education?...
Read More
It’s one thing to see a writer read her own work, but when someone else gets their hands on it, the fluid dynamic between story and storyteller is revealed. How much is the reader outside of the story, telling...
Read More
On April 24, Italian businessman and eminent contemporary art collector Count Giuseppe Panza di Biumo, whose papers are held at the Getty Research Institute (GRI), passed away at the age of 87 in Milan, Italy. The first European collector...
Read More
On a rainy afternoon at the Getty Center, two dozen students and teachers anxiously awaited the arrival of Natalie Merchant. Stopping at the Getty on her national tour, the singer-songwriter had invited them to attend a workshop on the...
Read More
How do you sum up motherhood in a picture or a phrase? There are over 400 elegant attempts in The Art of Motherhood, a new book from Getty Publications that pairs paintings and sculptures with words from authors as...
Read More
