A WORLD of ART, RESEARCH, CONSERVATION, and PHILANTHROPY | Summer 2017 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
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theGETTY A WORLD OF ART, RESEARCH, CONSERVATION, AND PHILANTHROPY | Summer 2017 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE theGETTY Summer 2017 TABLE OF President’s Message 3 he Getty Research Institute (GRI) is CONTENTS known as one of the world’s largest and New and Noteworthy 4 Tfinest arts and architecture libraries. Its Special Collections comprises rare and unique LA Architect 6 items, from the fifteenth century to the present, including books, photographs, prints, drawings, Contradiction and Continuity 10 artists’ archives, and video art, as well as archi- tecture and design materials. All have significant A Different Way to See 14 research value to art historians and scholars in related fields. Reflecting on 25 Years of Possibilities 18 The GRI’s architecture and design collection includes a vast array of materials that reveal the Book Excerpt: Golden Kingdoms 21 complex dimensions of the design process from initial sketches and study models to evocative New from Getty Publications 22 final renderings, detailed construction drawings, and published promotional photographs. The New Acquisitions 24 collection’s extensive archival materials include letters, notebooks, audiovisual materials, and From The Iris 26 ephemera that outline the evolving themes and issues of architectural discourse. Getty Events 28 A recent addition to that collection is the archive of world-renowned architect Frank Corporate Partner Spotlight 33 Gehry. In this issue’s cover story, you’ll discover The Frank Gehry Papers, which span the period Exhibitions 34 from the architect’s early graduate studies to the 1988 competition entry for Walt Disney From the Vault 35 Concert Hall. This issue of The Getty also includes an exploration by Getty Conservation Institute scientists of a painting that lies beneath Rembrandt’s famous An Old Man in Military Send correspondence and address The J. Paul Getty Trust is a cultural and The J. Paul Getty Trust is a tax-exempt Costume. The story highlights how technical changes to philanthropic institution dedicated to organization under Section 501(c)(3) imaging is changing the field of art history by Jim Cuno Getty Communications the presentation, conservation, and in- of the Internal Revenue Code (the allowing scholars to examine artists’ works and 1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 403 terpretation of the world’s artistic legacy. “Code”), and is specifically classified as techniques in unprecedented detail. Los Angeles, CA 90049 Through the collective and individual a private operating foundation under This summer issue also provides us with initiative Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, which Email: [email protected] work of its constituent programs—Getty Section 4942(j)(3) of the Code. Con- an opportunity to look back at the twenty-five launches in September. Conservation Institute, Getty Founda- tributions to the Getty are deductible years of the Getty Foundation’s Multicultural I hope you can visit the Getty Center or Getty tion, J. Paul Getty Museum, and Getty under Section 170 of the Code and may Undergraduate Internship program, which seeks Villa this summer. You can also connect with us Research Institute—the Getty pursues also be deductible for federal estate and to increase staff diversity at museums and arts online at getty.edu, or through Facebook, Twitter, its mission in Los Angeles and through- gift tax purposes. Prospective donors organizations by offering paid summer intern- Instagram, and YouTube. out the world, serving both the general should consult their own legal and tax ships to students from diverse backgrounds. interested public and a wide range of advisors in connection with gift and Since its inception, more than 3,000 students professional communities in order to planning matters, as the Getty cannot On the cover: have graduated from this program. Frank Gehry (Canadian-born American, b. promote a vital civil society through an provide tax advice. Rounding out this issue is an interview with 1929). Sketch of exterior, The Walt Disney understanding of the visual arts. Concert Hall Portfolio, 2003. Los Angeles, curators working on the exhibition. Photography Getty Research Institute, 2009.PR.3. © Gehry in Argentina, 1850–2010: Contradiction and Partners, LLP. Continuity. This exhibition is one of five being Text and design © 2017 J. Paul Getty Trust presented by the Getty as part of its region-wide 2 3 NEW AND NOTEWORTHY Bruce W. Dunlevie joins J. Paul Getty Board of Trustees Bruce W. Dunlevie has joined the Getty’s Board of Trustees. Mr. Dunlevie has worked in the early stage technology venture capital industry for thirty years and is a founder and General Partner of Benchmark Capital, based in Silicon Valley. Benchmark is responsible for the early stage funding of numerous successful startups including eBay, Twitter, Uber, Snapchat, WeWork, and Instagram. Mr. Dunlevie is currently the Chairman of the Board of the Stanford Management Company, the entity which oversees Stanford University’s endowment. “We’re delighted to have Bruce Dunlevie join the Board, with his extensive expertise in finance and in- novation,” says Maria Hummer-Tuttle, Board chair. “We very much look for- ward to working with Bruce in the years ahead as the Getty seeks to strengthen its digital leadership,” says James Cuno, president of the J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute Director Thomas’s commitment to the digitiza- Getty Receives Chairman’s Award from Los Lloyd Cotsen, Getty Trustee Emeritus, Dies at 88 Thomas W. Gaehtgens to Retire tion of the GRI’s collection, and his Angeles Conservancy Lloyd Cotsen, who served on the Getty Board of Trustees from In 2018 enthusiasm for open access tools and The Los Angeles Conservancy has awarded the 2002 to 2006, has passed away. During his tenure at the Getty Thomas W. Gaehtgens, director of the research databases, has put the GRI, and Getty and the City of Los Angeles its 2017 Chair- he served as Vice Chair of the Board, on all Board commit- Getty Research Institute (GRI), will by extension the Getty, at the forefront man’s Award for SurveyLA: The Los Angeles His- tees, and as a member of the Villa Council and Getty Research retire in early spring 2018 after more of the digital humanities.” toric Resources Survey, a citywide survey to iden- Library Council. than a decade of leading one of the Since becoming director of the tify significant historic resources that represents In addition to his leadership at the Getty, Cotsen also world’s foremost institutions for art his- GRI in 2007, Gaehtgens has overseen the largest and most ambitious historic resources served on a number of arts, education, philanthropic, and cul- torical research. a dramatic expansion in the Institute’s survey project to date in the United States. tural boards, including the Skirball Cultural Center, Armand “Thomas Gaehtgens’ interna- research projects, scholars department, SurveyLA is a multi-year public/private part- Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center, Huntington tional standing as a leading scholar has exhibitions program, and digital initia- nership between the City of Los Angeles and the Library, the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, enabled him to significantly broaden tives in addition to the robust growth Getty, including both the Getty Conservation and the Ahmanson Foundation. He served as advisor to the the vision and reputation of the Getty of the GRI’s Special Collections. One Institute and Getty Foundation. The significant Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA. He established the Research Institute,” says James Cuno, of his important accomplishments was cultural resources identified through SurveyLA Cotsen Family Foundation to aid in the development of gifted president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty to move the GRI from an institution are accessible and fully searchable online via teachers and was a long-time trustee of Princeton University, Trust. “The GRI has always been known focused primarily on Western art to one HistoricPlacesLA, as are other historic resources where he created the Cotsen Children’s Library. He founded as one of the world’s largest and fin- with a more global approach, supporting that have been previously identified and desig- the Cotsen Foundation for the Art of Teaching and the Cotsen est arts and architecture libraries, but collaborations with Chinese, Japanese, nated. The system continues to be updated and Foundation for Academic Research. under Thomas’s leadership the GRI has Indian, African, and above all, Latin can be accessed at historicplacesla.org. The Getty community extends its deepest condolences to become a robust, international center American institutions. Bruce W. Dunlevie his wife Margit, and to his children and grandchildren. of original scholarship. In addition, 4 5 ARCHI LA TECT The Getty Research he Getty Research Institute (GRI) is one of the premier institutions for the Above: Ron Davis House, South Institute Adds the Elevation, 1968–1972, Malibu, study of architectural history, especially modern architecture from Southern California. Frank Gehry Papers at California. Now, a major new acquisition cements the GRI’s standing in the the Getty Research Institute. Frank Gehry Papers T © Frank O. Gehry field by adding the archive of the foundational years of Los Angeles’s most promi- nent architect. Opposite: Walt Disney Concert Hall Model, 2003, Los Angeles, The newly acquired archive of the world-renowned architect Frank Gehry cov- California. Frank Gehry Papers at ers more than thirty years of his singular career and includes comprehensive mate- the Getty Research Institute. © Frank O. Gehry rial on some of his best-known projects. The Frank Gehry Papers encompasses the period from Gehry’s early graduate studies to the 1988 competition entry for the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the success of which marked Gehry’s entrée into a global architectural elite. (Gehry won the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize the fol- lowing year, in 1989.) The archive comprises drawings and sketches, partial and complete models, proj- ect documentation, correspondence, photographs and slides, and ephemera pertain- ing to 283 projects designed between 1954 (the Romm House project) and 1988 (the Walt Disney Concert Hall competition).