Records consist of design plans, gallery and promotional graphics, material samples, slides, photographs, and administrative materials created and maintained by the J. Paul Getty Museum's Exhibition Design Department, dating from 1991 through 2006 (bulk 1997-2005). The records include exhibition planning materials and a slide show/presentation about design at the Getty Center.

The J. Paul Getty Museum was established as a charitable trust in 1953 by oil tycoon J. Paul Getty in order to house his growing art collections, with his original Museum opening in 1954. Upon Getty's death in 1976 he bequeathed almost his entire estate to the Museum with a mission to promote "the diffusion of artistic and general knowledge." Today the J. Paul Getty Trust is an international cultural and philanthropic organization serving both general audiences and specialized professionals. The Trust is a not-for-profit institution, educational in purpose and character, that focuses on the visual arts in all of their dimensions. As of 2014 the Trust supports and oversees four programs: the Getty Foundation, the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Research Institute, and J. Paul Getty Museum. The Museum serves a wide variety of audiences through its expanded range of exhibitions and programming in the visual arts from two locations in the Los Angeles area: the Getty Villa near Malibu and the Getty Center in Brentwood.

13.8 linear feet (25 boxes)

The following types of records are permanently closed: records containing personal information, records that compromise security or operations, legal communications, legal work product, and records related to donors. The J. Paul Getty Trust reserves the right to restrict access to any records held by the Institutional Archives.