hyde or die

Getty Bronze Ruling: Museum to Appeal Italian Court’s Order for Immediate Return

The Getty is disappointed in the ruling issued February 11 by Judge [Lorena] Mussoni in Pesaro, Italy, involving the Statue of a Victorious Youth, often referred to as the Getty Bronze. The court’s order is flawed both procedurally and substantively.

It should be noted that the same court in Pesaro dismissed an earlier case in 2007 in which the same prosecutor claimed the Statue of a Victorious Youth belonged to Italy. In that case, the judge held that the statute of limitations had long since expired, that there was no one to prosecute under Italian law, and that the Getty was to be considered a good faith owner.

In fact, no Italian court has ever found any person guilty of any criminal activity in connection with the export or sale of the statue. To the contrary, Italy’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, held more than four decades ago that the possession by the original owners ‘did not constitute a crime.

The Getty will appeal the Pesaro court’s order to the Court of Cassation in Rome and will vigorously defend its legal ownership of the statue.”

Dramz.

February 11, 2010, 11:50am  

Tim Hawkinson Uberorgan at the Getty

February 05, 2010, 4:01pm  

» Getty Foundation Gives Out $3.1 Million In Grants

The Getty Foundation Wednesday announced it’s giving out $3.1 million in grants to support a massive, Southern California-wide series of exhibitions, Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980, to take place in 2011 and 2012.

The money is going to 26 regional institutions to support their roles in the program that celebrates 30 “thematically linked” exhibitions — what the foundation calls “the largest collaborative project ever undertaken by museums in the region” — that showcase postwar art in Southern California.

The money will help institutions from San Diego to Santa Barbara and from the sea to Palm Springs participate in Pacific Standard Time. LACMA, the J. Paul Getty Museum, MOCA, the Hammer Museum, the Orange County Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the Museum of Latin American Art and more are scheduled to participate.

Loving all this Southern California love and cooperation!

January 28, 2010, 9:31am  

» Getty Museum Director Michael Brand Stepping Down

LOS ANGELES—When Michael Brand was hired as director of the J. Paul Getty Museum in late 2005, the appointment seemed radical: Brand, a charming, Harvard-educated Australian who hailed from the very much smaller Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, would not only be the first director to oversee both the Getty Museum in Brentwood and the Getty Villa in Malibu, he would also take the institution’s reins amid a swirl of controversy.

Today, James N. Wood, president and chief executive of the governing J. Paul Getty Trust, announced that Brand will be stepping down from the position at the end of this month, almost a year before his five-year contract is up. Brand has announced neither future plans nor reasons for his departure, telling the Los Angeles Times only, “I really don’t want to get behind the reasons of my resignation.” He said he will continue to receive his salary until December, when his contract expires, and will continue to live for free in the Getty’s director’s residence. The Getty says he will be available to consult for the museum through the summer.

Rather not get into it? But I want to know now!!! Drama for days.

Also, how am I only learning about this now? I am super out of it this week. I promise next week I will be more on top of things that are actually going on in the real world.

January 07, 2010, 3:26pm  

Talk about a power garden! Robert Irwin’s massive sculpture otherwise known as the Central Garden at the Getty Center in Los Angeles is surreal.  Bob fought tooth and nail to get this garden to be a part of the Getty Design.  There is a great documentary about it, Concert of Wills, worth watching for all of you architecture/Fountainhead buffs! via i-peach-feng-shui

This is a great book, but then again, everything that Lawrence Weschler does is great.

August 03, 2009, 10:23am  

» Getty Center Evacuated as Firefighters Battle Sepulveda Blaze

More than 150 firefighters are battling a brush fire that broke out around 1 p.m. in the Sepulveda Pass near Getty Center, which has been evacuated.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott said the fire has burned 10 acres and is moving north. The fire was jamming traffic on the nearby 405 Freeway. Scott said no structures are immediately threatened at this time.

July 08, 2009, 2:27pm  

Smoke from the fire near the Getty as seen from the northeast.

via ianbroyles

July 08, 2009, 2:26pm  

» Silence Dogetty

An anonymous blog for Getty employees to vent about upcoming reductions in staff.

April 28, 2009, 11:56am