Getty Center

Getty Museum Pays Top Dollar For J.M.W. Turner Painting

A J.M.W. Turner painting, "Modern Rome – Campo Vaccino" sold at auction on Wednesday for $45.1 million, setting a new record for the artist. At Sotheby's London six bidders pursued the painting driving the price well above pre-sale expectations. The price beat the old record set in April 2006 at Christie's in New York when an 1841 view of Venice, "Giudecca, La Donna della Salute and San Giorgio," sold for $35.9 million.

"Modern Rome – Campo Vaccino" was painted in 1839 and is his final painting of Rome, a culmination of all of the studies that he made during his two visits to the Italian capital. Before Wednesday's sale, the painting had only appeared on the open market once in the 171 years since it was painted. It was offered for sale by a descendant of the 5th Earl of Rosebery; the 5th Earl of Rosebery had bought the painting in 1878, while on honeymoon with his wife Hannah Rothschild. The painting was most recently displayed at the National Gallery of Scotland where it was on long-term loan. It will continue to have a museum life, the new owner is the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

The painting was the top-selling lot in Sotheby's summer Evening Sale of Old Master & British Paintings, which had a total of £53,484,350 (pre-sale expectations were £33.8-49.6 million).

Tags: art, art market, Getty Center, Getty museum, j.m.w. turner, J.m.w.Turner, sothebys

Getty Museums Face Budget Cuts

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

Even some of the most well-funded museums are paring back in the current economic climate, mainly because the value of their investments has declined. The Los Angeles Times has a piece on the Getty Trust, the legacy of J. Paul Getty, which supports two Los Angeles art museums as well as significant art conservation and research projects worldwide. The Getty saw its portfolio plummet by 25% during the last half of 2008 down from $6 billion to $4.5 billion.

In response the trust has cut its operating budget by close to 25% for the next fiscal year. The Getty cuts may include a reduction in the number of temporary exhibitions, a freeze on acquiring new works and the possibility of some layoffs (a blog silencedogetty.blogspot.com is being written by some worried members of the Getty staff). The Getty Trust was started in 1976 with a $700-million bequest (the equivalent of $2.6 billion today) and unlike other institutions which depend heavily on donations it has been able to cover most of its operating costs with the earns from the investment portfolio. The Getty Center and the Getty Villa both offer free admission (although they do charge for parking).

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Tags: getty, getty center, getty trust, getty villa, GettyCenter, GettyTrust, GettyVilla, j paul getty, JPaulGetty

Richard Meier's Modern Masterpieces

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Estates, Books, Real Estate Developments

Photo by Scott Frances / Esto

Every edifice ever built by rationalist architect Richard Meier -- and then some - is featured in a new mega monograph about to be published by Taschen: Richard Meier & Partners: Complete Works 1963-2008. The extra-large $150 volume showcases Meier's entire career to date, including such stunning commissions as the Getty Center in Los Angeles, the City Hall and Library at the Hague and the beauteous Southern California beach house pictured above. Meier, one of the world's top architects - or "starchitects" as he and a select few of his contemporaries such as Frank Gehry and Rem Koolhaas are known - has an insatiable appetite for large swaths of white, but it works (to say the least). Meier will be at Taschen's New York store to sign copies on June 3rd from 6 - 8 p.m. You can preview the book in the gallery below.

Gallery: The Works of Richard Meier