Getty Center
Getty Center,
art museum complex in Brentwood, Calif., operated by the J. Paul GettyGetty, Jean Paul,1892–1976, American business executive, one of the richest men in the world during his life, b. Minneapolis, Minn. He inherited his father's oil business, George F. Getty, Inc., becoming its president and general manager in 1930.
..... Click the link for more information. Trust. It consists of six buildings on 124 acres (50 hectares) located on a spectacular promontory overlooking Los Angeles. Designed by architect Richard MeierMeier, Richard
, 1934–, American architect, b. Newark, N.J., educated at Cornell. During the 1960s, he was a member of the New York "Five" or "white" architects, a group that emulated the early International style. In such projects as the Smith House in Darien, Conn.
..... Click the link for more information. , the center opened in 1997. The museum houses the Getty collections of European paintings, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, and decorative arts and American and European photographs. The complex also maintains a research library and archives, which include performance and lecture facilities; conservation and art historical research institutes; and educational and computer centers. The first Getty Museum was located at J. Paul Getty's home in Malibu. The second is a Roman-style villa in Malibu that opened in 1974 and after major renovations reopened in 2006; it now exhibits the Getty's outstanding collection of classical antiquities and serves as a center for comparative archaeology and cultures.