There has been renewed interest recently in the life of John Paul Getty. It was explored in the movie All the Money in the World, where director Ridley Scott decided to remove the performance of Kevin Spacey to replace him with Christopher Plummer. Then Donald Sutherland played him with gusto in the FX-TV series Trust. The actor said: “Getty didn’t use power in an aggressive way, he wasn’t a bully, he was very pragmatic, extraordinarily well organized and brilliant.”
Getty Villa, photo by Elisa Leonelli 1982
Despite the character flaws of this wealthy man, he created something wonderful that ensures his legacy as an art collector, the Getty Villa. Built in 1976 and modeled after the Roman Villa dei Papyri in Ercolano, Italy, this lovely museum houses antiquities of Roman and Greek art.
The Beauty of Palmyra AD 190-210
I visited the Villa many times through the years, always proudly showing it off to out-of-town visitors. I was there again a couple of weeks ago for a media appreciation event. What I found particularly poignant was the room devoted to sculptures, drawings and photos from the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria, because some of the temples were destroyed by ISIL in 2015.
Perfection in Black, by Edward Steichen © Condé Nast 1935
I remember how exciting it was when The Getty Trust built the Getty Center, that opened in 1997. I visit it regularly, when there’s a photo exhibit of interest. Click here to read my article about Robert Mapplethorpe. The current show, Icons of Style: A Century of Fashion Photography, 1911-2011, is amazing. It includes not only photos by Richard Avedon, Edward Steichen and many others, but a few actual gowns by famous designers, such as Coco Chanel and Christian Dior.
The New Look of Dior © Richard Avedon 1947
We are very lucky to have such world-class museums in Los Angeles. Thank you J. Paul Getty!
Text by Elisa Leonelli