Westside: Getty Center

This small museum, established in his ranch house in Malibu, housed collections of Greek and Roman antiquities, 18th -century French furniture, and European paintings. Fascinated with the ancient world of the Mediterranean, he later built a Roman-style villa, modeled after the 1st-century AD Villa dei Papiri.

When most of Mr. Getty's personal estate passed to the Trust in 1982, the Trustees sought to make a greater contribution to the visual arts through an expanded museum as well as a range of new programs. Planning for the Getty Center began in the mid 1980s, when property in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles was acquired by the J. Paul Getty Trust and the American architectural firm of Richard Meier & Partners was awarded the design commission.

The J. Paul Getty Museum is an operating program of the J. Paul Getty Trust. The Museum collects in seven distinct areas including: Greek and Roman antiquities, European paintings, drawings, manuscripts, sculpture, decorative arts, and European and American photographs. The Museum's goal is to make the collection meaningful and attractive to a broad audience by presenting and interpreting the collection through educational programs, special exhibitions, publications, conservation, and research.

More information The Getty Center is centrally located in Los Angeles near the San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405) and the Santa Monica Freeway (Interstate 10). Take the Getty Center Drive exit from the 405 and follow the signs. See Transportation for information about parking and alternate forms of transportation.

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