Getty Foundation facts for kids

The Getty Foundation is an organization based in Los Angeles, California. It gives out money, called "grants," to help people understand and protect visual arts. This includes things like paintings, sculptures, and other artworks. The Foundation is part of the larger J. Paul Getty Trust.

History of the Getty Foundation

The Getty Foundation began in 1984. It was first known as the "Getty Grant Program." By 1990, this program had given out $20 million in grants. These grants went to art historians, art conservators, and art museums in 18 different countries.

In 1993, the Foundation started a special program. It was called the Multicultural Undergraduate Internship Program. This program helps increase diversity among staff in art organizations in Los Angeles.

The Foundation has supported many projects. In 1998, it gave $750,000 to help art museums in Los Angeles create electronic catalogs. In 1999, it gave $180,000 to the National Gallery in Prague. This money helped them digitize images of their art collections. In 2005, the Foundation gave almost $400,000 to the University of California, Los Angeles and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. This grant helped them document and preserve Latino and Latin American art.

The name of the Getty Grant Program officially changed to the "Getty Foundation" in 2005.

Between 2002 and 2007, the Foundation spent over $13.5 million. This money helped 86 colleges and universities in the United States. It supported plans to care for and preserve their historic buildings and resources. In 2006, the Foundation gave $3.5 million to restore a large mural. This mural, called "America Tropical," was painted by David Alfaro Siqueiros on Olvera Street in Los Angeles. After Hurricane Katrina, the Foundation also announced a $2 million fund. This fund helped visual arts organizations in New Orleans.

A big project for the Getty in 2011–2012 was Pacific Standard Time: Art in LA 1945–1980. This was a huge team effort. More than sixty cultural places in Southern California worked together for six months. They told the story of how the L.A. art scene began.

In 2018, the Getty Foundation started a new program. It is called Conserving Canvas. This program focuses on the conservation and restoration of paintings.

In May 2022, it was announced that Christie’s auction house would sell the Ann and Gordon Getty Collection. The money from this sale, estimated at $180 million, will go to the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation for the Arts.

Grants and Funding

How Grants Work

The Getty Foundation gives out grants to support its goals. The larger J. Paul Getty Trust can spend a small part of its funds on these gifts and grants. From July 2006 to June 2007, the Foundation had a budget of $27.8 million. It had about 30 full-time and part-time employees.

As of June 2008, the Foundation focuses on four main areas for its grants:

• Making art history stronger around the world.
• Encouraging different ways to practice art conservation.
• Making museum and archive collections easier for everyone to see and use.
• Helping train new and current leaders in the art world.

Funding for Books

The Foundation also helps fund the publication of books. For example, a grant might help pay for more pictures in a book. Or it might help lower the book's price so more people can buy it. Some books published with help from the Getty Grant Program include:

• Hamburger, Jeffrey F. The Rothschild canticles: art and mysticism in Flanders and the Rhineland circa 1300. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990. ISBN: 0-300-04308-2
• Nesbit, Molly, and Eugène Atget. Atget's seven albums. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992. ISBN: 0-300-03580-2
• Jones, Amelia, and Laura Cottingham. Sexual politics: Judy Chicago's Dinner Party in feminist art history. [Los Angeles, CA]: UCLA at the Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center in association with University of California Press, Berkeley, 1996. ISBN: 0-520-20565-0

Supporting Diversity in Art

The Multicultural Undergraduate Internship Program, started in 1993, is funded by the Foundation. This program aims to increase diversity among staff in visual arts organizations in Los Angeles County.

In the summer of 2011, the Foundation funded these internships at 70 museums and art organizations in the Los Angeles area. The internships try to bring students from underrepresented groups into museums. These groups include people of African American, Asian, Latino/Hispanic, Native American, and Pacific Islander descent.

In 2016, the Foundation gave an $8.5 million grant. This money helped promote more Latino and Latin American-themed art shows in Southern California.

Keeping It Modern Grant

On September 16, 2014, the Getty Foundation announced a new grant. It is called Keeping It Modern. This grant helps preserve modern architecture around the world. The Centennial Hall in Poland was one of the first places to receive this grant, getting $200,000.

In 2018, the grant helped many other important buildings. These included The National Art Schools in Cuba and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Other places were the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla.

In 2019, the grant continued to support modern buildings. It helped the Buzludzha Monument in Bulgaria and the North Christian Church in Columbus, Indiana. Other recipients included the Uganda National Museum in Kampala and the Beira Railway Station in Mozambique.

Art History Fellowships

Every year, the Getty Foundation offers international fellowships in Art History. These fellowships provide $60,000 plus $5,000 for research and travel. They are given in partnership with the American Council of Learned Societies.

Getty Leadership Institute

The Foundation also supports the Getty Leadership Institute (GLI). The main program at GLI is the Museum Leadership Institute (MLI). This program helps museum directors and senior team members. It teaches them about strategy, marketing, management, and money. Almost 1,000 museum professionals from the United States and 30 other countries have attended.

The GLI also offers other programs to help professionals grow. It organizes meetings for non-profit groups and has an online forum. The GLI started in 1979 in New York City. Classes were first taught at the University of California Berkeley.

From 1999 to 2009, the program was based at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. In 2004, classes also moved to the Getty Center. In 2010, the GLI joined with Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California. It was then renamed The Getty Leadership Institute at Claremont Graduate University. The Foundation supports GLI with grants, but the program is now based on the Claremont campus.

Other Getty Organizations

There are other organizations with similar names that are part of the Getty family:

• The "Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation" is in San Francisco, California. It gives grants to support music, opera, and symphonies.
• The Getty Research Institute is in Los Angeles. It works to increase knowledge and understanding of visual arts.
• The Getty Conservation Institute is also in Los Angeles. It focuses on improving how art is conserved and preserved.
• The J. Paul Getty Trust is the main fund that oversees all Getty-branded programs and institutions.