Getty Research Institute facts for kids
| Founded | 1985 |
|---|---|
| Founder | J. Paul Getty |
| Focus | Dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts |
| Location |
|
| Method | Grants, research |
| Owner | J. Paul Getty Trust |
The Getty Research Institute (GRI) is a special place in Los Angeles, California. It's part of the Getty Center. The GRI's main goal is to help people learn more about art and understand it better. It's like a big art library and research hub!
The GRI is part of the J. Paul Getty Trust. It has a huge library for researchers. It also puts on art shows and other events. The GRI helps scholars by offering a special program where they can live and study there. They also publish books and create online art databases.
Contents
History of the Getty Research Institute
How the GRI Started
The Getty Research Institute was first called the "Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities." People started talking about creating it in 1983. It was first located in Santa Monica.
Its first director, Kurt W. Forster, started in 1985. Back in 1983, the GRI's library had about 30,000 books. By 1986, it had grown to 450,000 books!
Changes and New Leaders
Kurt W. Forster left in 1992. He said the center grew from a small museum library into a top research place for art and culture. In 1994, Salvatore Settis became the new director. He was a professor of classical art history from Italy.
By 1996, the center's name changed to "Getty Research Institute for the History of Art and the Humanities." Then, by 1999, it was simply known as the "Getty Research Institute."
In 1999, another Getty group, the Getty Information Institute, closed down. The GRI took over many of its important jobs.
Directors Through the Years
Thomas E. Crow became the GRI director in 2000. He took over after Salvatore Settis. Crow left in 2006.
In 2007, Thomas W. Gaehtgens became the director. He had been a visiting scholar at the Getty before. He led the GRI until 2019. Then, Mary Miller was chosen as the new director.
Programs at the GRI
The Research Library
The GRI's research library is amazing! It holds over 1 million books, magazines, and auction catalogs. It also has special collections and two million photos of art and buildings.
The library is located at the Getty Center. You can't check out books, but anyone can visit and use the collections.
Art Exhibitions and Events
The GRI usually has two public art shows each year. These shows often feature special items from the library. They also show art made by artists who are visiting scholars.
For example, in 2005–2006, they had a show about photographer Julius Shulman. This show even traveled to other museums. Other past shows include "World War I: War of Images, Images of War" in 2015. In 2016, they had "Cave Temples of Dunhuang," about Buddhist art.
Besides exhibitions, the GRI also hosts talks that are open to everyone. They have workshops and show films and videos too.
Online Exhibitions
The GRI also creates online art shows. In 2017, they launched "The Legacy of Ancient Palmyra." This show was updated in 2021 as "Return to Palmyra." It even included Arabic translations.
In 2019, they launched "Bauhaus: Building the New Artist" online. This was at the same time as a physical show about Bauhaus art.
Scholars Program
The GRI has a special program for scholars. It helps art historians connect with other experts in the humanities. The first group of scholars came in 1985–1986. They received salaries and housing. They were not required to produce anything, which is still true today.
Famous writers like Christa Wolf have been scholars here. She wrote a novel during her time at the GRI.
Each year, scholars work on projects related to a special theme. They can stay for different lengths of time. Some stay for a few months, while others stay for a full academic year.
Publications
The GRI publishes many books. These books cover different topics like art debates and cultural heritage. They also publish catalogs for their exhibitions.
In 2021, a book called Käthe Kollwitz: Prints, Process, Politics won an important art award. It was published with an exhibition that was at the GRI.
The GRI also publishes an academic journal called the Getty Research Journal. It shares new research related to the Getty's collections. It started in 2009 and publishes one issue each year.
Electronic Databases
The GRI creates and updates several online databases. These tools help people research art history.
- Getty Vocabulary Program: This includes databases like the Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT). It also has the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN) and the Union List of Artist Names (ULAN). These help organize information about art, places, and artists.
- Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA): This is a huge list of art history writings.
- Getty Provenance Index: This database has records of art collections and sales. It helps people trace where artworks came from.
- Getty Research Portal: This portal gives free access to many digitized art history books. It started in 2012. It works with many libraries around the world to share these books.
The Getty Vocabularies are also available online for other libraries to use. The GRI also helps with a program called PREP. This program trains researchers to find art that was lost during the Holocaust.
Special Art Collections
The GRI has many important collections. These include archives from artists, architects, and art collectors. They also keep records of the Getty Trust's own programs.
Artist and Art Dealer Archives
In 1985, the Getty got all the records of American sculptor Malvina Hoffman. In 2011, they got a huge collection from Harald Szeemann. It included letters, research files, drawings, and photos.
The GRI also has records from famous art dealers. These include the Goupil & Cie and Duveen Brothers galleries. They also have papers from gallery owner Clara Diament Sujo.
Modern and Contemporary Art
The GRI has many collections about modern and contemporary art. In 2019, they got the complete archives of sculptor Claes Oldenburg and his wife Coosje van Bruggen.
They have strong collections on early 20th-century European art movements. These include Dada and Surrealism, Italian Futurism, Russian Modernism, and Bauhaus.
Experimental Art and Performance
The GRI also has collections on experimental art. This includes groups like Fluxus and Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.). They also have papers about music, dance, and film. This includes records from composer David Tudor and dancers Simone Forti and Yvonne Rainer.
Feminist Art and Architecture
The GRI has important collections on feminist art. This includes papers from the activist group Guerrilla Girls. They also have records from the Woman's Building in Los Angeles. In 2018, they received a grant to digitize many of these important archives.
For performance art, the GRI has papers from Allan Kaprow and Rachel Rosenthal. They also have photos of early "Happenings" by Robert R. McElroy.
The GRI houses archives of several famous California architects. These include Frank Gehry and Paul R. Williams. They also have papers from architectural photographers like Julius Shulman.
Photography and Prints
The GRI's photography collections include work from early French photographers. They also have 19th-century travel photos. They own collections from German and Venezuelan photographers. American photographers like Robert Mapplethorpe also have archives here.
The GRI owns over 27,000 prints, some from as early as the 16th century. This includes a complete set of works by Giovanni Battista Piranesi. They also have important prints from China during the Qing dynasty.
Artist Sketchbooks
The GRI collections also have sketchbooks from many important artists. These include Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Jacques-Louis David, Diego Rivera, and Mark Rothko.
Research Projects and Initiatives
L.A. as Subject
One special project was "L.A. as Subject." This project ran from 1995 to 1999. Its goal was to find and preserve local history in Los Angeles.
In 1999, the GRI published a directory of hidden archives in Los Angeles. In 2000, the project moved to the University of Southern California. They continue to update the online directory.
Pacific Standard Time
Pacific Standard Time is one of the Getty's biggest projects. It started in 2002. It aimed to save the history of Los Angeles art from after World War II.
The first set of exhibitions was called "Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A., 1945-1980." Over 60 museums in Los Angeles participated in 2011 and 2012. They put on shows about California art history.
The second part was "Modern Architecture in L.A." in 2013. The third set was "Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA" in 2017-2018. This project connected art from Los Angeles with art from Latin America. It showed how important Los Angeles is as an art center.
Ed Ruscha's Archive
In 2011, the GRI got Ed Ruscha's "Streets of Los Angeles" archive. This includes thousands of photos and documents. In 2020, the GRI launched a website called "12 Sunsets." It shows over 65,000 photos Ruscha took of buildings on Sunset Boulevard.
African American Art History
In 2018, the GRI started the African American Art History Initiative. This project aims to add more African American art to its collections. They started by getting the archive of artist Betye Saar.
Florentine Codex Digitization
The GRI is also helping to digitize the "General History of the Things of New Spain." This is also known as the Florentine Codex. It's a 16th-century book about Aztec life. It was written in Nahuatl and Spanish.
GRI Staff and Budget
Between July 2006 and June 2007, the GRI had about 200 full-time and part-time employees. Its budget was $63.7 million. From July 2017 to June 2018, its budget was $68.6 million.
