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Gerry Kataoka (golfkat@hotmail.com) You moved this message to its current location.
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Thu 5/21/15 6:58 AM
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Gerry (golfkat@hotmail.com)
I have been to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, but cannot recall getting over to the Getty Villa, near Malibu, just down the street from dear friends in Westlake. J. Paul Getty, as you know, was the wealthiest person in the world for a long time, before Wal-Mart, Microsoft, and Warren Buffet. The museum has two campuses, the Getty Center (Brentwood), and the Getty Villa (Pacific Palisades). The origins trace back to 1974, when Mr. Getty himself opened a museum on his Pacific Palisades property. In 1982, the museum became the richest in the world, when it inherited $1.2 billion. We are headed to the Museum today. We will save the Villa for our next trip to SoCal.
Getty Villa
As you might guess, and as occurs with other museums in the world, there are controversies regarding how the art works were obtained. In other words, who holds the title to the art. One of the previous curators, Marion True, was indicted on criminal charges in Italy for stolen antiquities. Similar charges have been addressed by the Greek authorities. Some antiquities have been returned, most notably in 2006.
When I was at the famous Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia, I thought about the same thing. Did Peter the Great obtain these things legally, through the black market or underground, or as the spoils of war and conquest? It leaves me with rather mixed feelings, viewing some of the greatest art in the world, juxtaposed on war, death, theft, and deceit.
A Summary Catalogue of European Decorative Arts in the J. Paul Getty Museum was published in 2001. Indeed, some discrete works are provided with annotations, with comments like “possibly Paul Georges.” I have never seen this type of annotation in a museum, anywhere in the world.
But, I guess I should just buck up, and accept that art has been this way much longer than I have been enjoying art. I should just enjoy what I see, and focus on what I like. Any ideas from you? Since they do not charge admission, I am really not contributing to their possible criminal behavior.