The J. Paul Getty Museum has achieved international presence in a relatively limited time. It was the concept of the passionate collector, J. Paul Getty (1892–1976). In 1955, Getty would be able to publish Joys of Collecting describing the works on view: “The ranch museum is enviable in French furniture, tapestries, carpet and chandeliers. The classical section is gaining importance. [There are] fine paintings of the Dutch and English Schools.” During the 1950s, Getty had begun to increase his acquisitions of Greek and Roman sculpture… More
The J. Paul Getty Museum has achieved international presence in a relatively limited time. It was the concept of the passionate collector, J. Paul Getty (1892–1976). In 1955, Getty would be able to publish Joys of Collecting describing the works on view: “The ranch museum is enviable in French furniture, tapestries, carpet and chandeliers. The classical section is gaining importance. [There are] fine paintings of the Dutch and English Schools.” During the 1950s, Getty had begun to increase his acquisitions of Greek and Roman sculpture. Such a large collection of antique works led to a renovation of the ranch to become The Getty Villa, opened in 1974 and modeled after the Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum. A little more than a decade later, the greatly expanded collection demanded an additional museum on a completely new site. The Pritzker Prize winning architect, Richard Meier was called to design the Getty Center, built between 1987 and 1996. In 1983, the museum immediately placed itself among an international elite by acquiring the manuscript collection of Dr. Peter and Irene Ludwig of Aachen, Germany, the finest gathering of the subject then in private hands. Almost all of the stained glass at the J. Paul Getty Museum was acquired as a lot in 2003 through the Sam Fogg dealership, London. It includes panels dating from about 1210 to about 1575, from Austria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
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