Guide to the J. Paul Getty Trust Press Relations Records, 1954-2007

Finding aid prepared by Nancy Enneking, Rebecca Fenning, and Kyle Morgan

Descriptive Summary

Title: Press relations records

Date (inclusive): 1954-2007

Number: IA10011

Creator/Collector: J. Paul Getty Trust. Communications Department

Physical Description: 45.1 linear feet (54 boxes)

Repository:

The Getty Research Institute

Institutional Records and Archives

1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100

Los Angeles, California, 90049-1688

(310) 440-7390

archives@getty.edu

Abstract: The records comprise press releases and press clippings issued by and about the J. Paul Getty Trust and J. Paul Getty Museum, 1954-2007. The press releases document the events and activities the Getty wished to publicize to the media. The press clippings document the extent to which the Getty was covered by various news and media outlets.

Request Materials: To access physical materials at the Getty, go to the library catalog record for this collection and click "Request an Item." Click here for general library access policy . See the Administrative Information section of this finding aid for access restrictions specific to the records described below. Please note, some of the records may be stored off site; advanced notice is required for access to these materials.

Language: Collection material is in English

Administrative History

The Trust's origins date to 1953, when J. Paul Getty established the J. Paul Getty Museum as a California charitable trust to house his growing art collections. Originally a small, private institution located in Mr. Getty's ranch house in Malibu, the museum moved to the newly constructed Villa in grounds adjacent to the ranch house in 1974. When most of Mr. Getty's personal estate passed to the Trust in 1982, the Trustees decided that, given the size of the endowment, it should make a greater contribution to the visual arts and humanities than the museum could alone. Out of this resolve grew an expanded commitment to the arts in the general areas of scholarship, conservation, and education. This took the shape of new programs including the Center for the History of Arts and Humanities, Art History Information Institute, Conservation Institute, and Center for Education in the Arts as well as smaller programs such as the Museum Management Institute and Program for Art on Film. In 1983 the trust's name was changed from the J. Paul Getty Museum to the J. Paul Getty Trust to reflect its broader scope, with the museum becoming an operating program of the Trust.

Although press releases were issued by the J. Paul Getty Museum dating back to 1954, press release production was not officially institutionalized until 1974 with the appointment of a Public Affairs Director. Although the name of the department went through subsequent iterations, from 1979-1997 museum press releases were consistently rendered as issuing from "Public Information."

Concurrently, the Department of Public Affairs was created in 1983 to issue press releases on behalf of the J. Paul Getty Trust and its newly created programs. In 1997, the Public Information department ceased and the dissemination of press releases was centralized under the auspices of the Trust's Department of Public Affairs. In 2000, this name was changed to the Communications Department.

Prior to 1983, press clippings were predominantly collected by Stephen Garrett and other individuals within the J. Paul Getty Museum. After 1983, collecting and dissemination became the responsibility of the various incarnations of what is now the Communications Department.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Access

The records described in all the accessions in this finding aid are available for use by qualified researchers.

The following records are permanently closed: records containing personal information, records that compromise security or operations, legal communications, legal work product, and records related to donors. The J. Paul Getty Trust reserves the right to restrict access to any records held by the Institutional Archives.

Publication Rights

Contact Library Rights and Reproductions at the Getty Research Institute for copyright information and permission to publish.

Preferred Citation

[Cite the item and series (as appropriate)], Press relations records, 1954-2007, J. Paul Getty Trust. Institutional Archives, Research Library, Getty Research Institute, Finding aid no. IA10011

Acquisition Information

1986.IA.01, transferred by the J. Paul Getty Museum

1986.IA.56, transferred by the J. Paul Getty Museum

1988.IA.01, transferred by the J. Paul Getty Trust

1993.IA.02, transferred by the J. Paul Getty Trust, Department of Public Affairs

2001.IA.02, transferred by Public Affairs

2001.IA.08, transferred by Stephen Garrett

2003.IA.02, transferred by Information Center, Getty Conservation Institute

2007.IA.06, transferred by J. Paul Getty Trust Communications Department

2007.IA.10, accumulated by the Getty Institutional Archives

2007.IA.11, transferred by the Communications Department

2007.IA.34, transferred by the Communications Department

2008.IA.48, transferred by the Communications Department

2009.IA.31, transferred by the Communications Department (Legacy)

Processing History

Records inventoried and finding aid created by Nancy Enneking and Rebecca Fenning, March 2007, and Kyle Morgan, August 2008 and July 2009.

Accruals

The Institutional Archives receives press releases and clippings from the Getty Communications Department on a fairly regular basis, usually once a year.

Appraisal

The press releases document the events and activities the Getty wished to publicize to the media. The press clippings document the extent to which the Getty was covered by various news and media outlets. The records warrant permanent retention in the Institutional Archives.

Scope and Content of Collection

The records consist of press releases, fact sheets, media advisories, schedules, press clippings in paper form and on microform, remarks made at the J. Paul Getty Muesum 1954 opening, and memorandums issued by and about the J. Paul Getty Trust and Museum, 1954-2007. The press release materials date from 1954-1959 and 1973-2006. The organization issued relatively few press releases until the construction of the Villa Museum in 1974 and it is uncertain if any exist from 1960-1972. An increase in press release production came in the early 1980s with the expansion of the Trust and its operations. Press release subjects include acquisitions, public events, exhibitions, high-level personnel appointments, collaborative projects, building projects, occasional matters regarding Trust administration, and others. The press releases are intended to inform both the media and, by extension, the general public of Getty events and activities. It is not clear whether the press releases for the years before 1984 are complete.

The press clippings reflect the publicity and coverage the Getty actually received in various media outlets, 1954-2007. The press clippings from 1954-1984 were probably collected from various news sources by early Museum staff and later by Director Stephen Garrett. The press clippings from 1984-2007 were collected primarily by what is now the Trust Communications Department. The press clippings exist in paper form, 1954-2007, and on microfiche and microfilm, 1972-1990. Clippings on microfilm were accumulated in the Getty Trust offices in Century City (exact department unknown) and clippings on microfiche were collected, filmed and indexed by the Department of Public Affairs (now the Communications Department) before their transfer to the Archives. Press clipping subjects include J. Paul Getty's family and his associates, his bequest to the museum, acquisitions, building projects, events, exhibitions, Getty trustees, and others. As the press clippings were received at different times with different organizational schemes and occasionally from programs other than the Communications Department, duplication is to be expected.

While the number of press releases and press clippings are extensive, this collection does not claim to contain the entirety of press releases and press clippings created by or about the Getty.

Organization

These records are organized into two series: Series I. Press releases, 1954-1959, 1973-2006; Series II. Press clippings, 1954-2007.

Indexing Terms

Subjects - Corporate Bodies

J. Paul Getty Museum

J. Paul Getty Trust

Subjects - Topics

Art museums--Design and construction

Art museums--Public relations

Art--Exhibitions

Communication and education

Museums--Press coverage

Nonprofit organizations

Special events

Genres and Forms of Material

Calendars

Clippings (information artifacts)

Memorandums

Press releases

Contributors

J. Paul Getty Museum. Department of Public Information and Visitor Services

J. Paul Getty Trust. Public Affairs Dept.

Container List

Series I. Press releases, 1954-1959, 1973-2006

Physical Description: 8.0 linear feet (11 boxes)

Scope and Content Note

The records comprise press releases, memoranda, notes, correspondence, ephemera, and photographs issued by the J. Paul Getty Trust and J. Paul Getty Museum from 1954-2006. The organization issued relatively few press releases until the construction of the Villa Museum in 1974, explaining the absence of press releases in this collection from 1960-1972. In 1983, the Getty officially changed its corporate name from J. Paul Getty Museum to J. Paul Getty Trust, dividing press release production between the Museum, for museum related releases, and the Trust, for all other departments. With the expansion of the Getty's operations in 1983, including the addition of the Center for the History of Arts and Humanities, Art History Information Institute, Conservation Institute, and Center for Education in the Arts, the volume of press releases increased dramatically. Press releases regarding other programs such as the Museum Management Institute, the Getty Center Building Program, and the Program for Art on Film also began to be issued arround the same time.

The press releases were intended to inform both the media and, by extension, the general public of events and activities the Getty wished to publicize. Subjects include acquisitions, public events, exhibitions, personnel appointments to significant administrative positions, collaborative projects, conferences, fellowship/scholar/conservator awards, grants, occasional matters regarding Trust administration, and others. It is not clear whether press releases issued before 1984 are complete.

Final press releases issued by the Getty have been scanned to PDF-A and processed using uncorrected optical character recognition (OCR) to enable full-text searching. The quality of the full-text searching varies, however, depending on the clarity of the original font and sometimes, it seems, the paper color of the original release. The contents of each file folder were scanned as a single PDF therefore, depending on the folder in question, a PDF may contain one or multiple press releases. Please note that only final Getty press releases were scanned; the occasional drafts, notes, memos, correspondence, photos, and press releases issued by other organizations were not scanned.

Organization

These records are organized into two subseries:

Subseries I.A. Chronological files, 1954-2006;

Subseries I.B. Program and subject files, 1974-2006;

Please note that duplication of material exists between the two subseries.

Series I.A. Chronological files, 1954-1959, 1973-2006

Physical Description: 2.8 linear feet (5 boxes)

Scope and Content Note

The records consist of press releases, remarks made at the J. Paul Getty Museum's 1954 opening, and several memos dating 1954-1959 and 1973-2006, issued by the J. Paul Getty Trust and Museum. Subjects include acquisitions, public events, exhibitions, personnel appointments to significant administrative positions, collaborative projects, conferences, fellowhip/scholar/conservator awards, grants, occasional matters regarding Trust administration, and others. It is not clear whether pre-1990s press releases are complete.

Arrangement

These records are arranged in general chronological order with a set of Museum-specific press releases at the end. Please note that there are some duplicate records in Subseries 1B.

Box 1986.IA.56-1, Folder 1

1954

[View press releases]