Description
The records comprise audio recordings, video recordings, and ephemera that document public events sponsored by the J. Paul
Getty Museum at the Getty Villa from 2006 to the present.
Background
The Getty Villa, located just off the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, California, operates as a museum and educational
center dedicated to the study of the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria. The Getty Villa was designed
to house J. Paul Getty's art collection when it outgrew his Ranch House, which had served as a private museum since 1954.
After considering various options for expanding the Ranch House, Getty decided in the fall of 1968 to build a new museum on
the same property, in the form of a first-century Roman country house, based primarily on the plans of the ancient Villa dei
Papiri just outside of Herculaneum. The archaeologist Norman Neuerburg, who had studied the ruins of Herculaneum and was an
authority on Roman domestic architecture, was retained as a consultant for the project. The Santa Monica architectural firm
Langdon & Wilson was hired to design the Villa, and British architect Stephen Garrett, who had served as Getty's consultant
in the remodeling of a Getty home in Posillipo, Italy, was retained as overseer of the construction. Landscape architect Emmet
Wemple designed the gardens, Garth Benton worked on the murals, and Bruce Ptolomy worked on the fountains. The construction
itself was done by Dinwiddie Construction Co., with various subcontractors. Construction began on December 21, 1970, and the
new museum opened to the public on January 16, 1974.
Availability
The records described in accessions 2008.IA.33, 2009.IA.21, 2010.IA.13, 2011.IA.02, and 2012.IA.29 are available for use by
qualified researchers. Master recordings are restricted; viewing copies are available for researcher use.