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Finding aid for the J. Paul Getty Museum Exhibition Design Records, 1991-2006 (bulk 1997-2005)
IA30013
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Title: J. Paul Getty Museum Exhibition Design Records
Date (inclusive): 1991-2006 (bulk 1997-2005)
Number: IA30013
Creator/Collector:
J. Paul Getty Museum. Exhibition Design
Physical Description:
13.8 linear feet
(25 boxes)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Institutional Records and Archives
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, California, 90049-1688
(310) 440-7390
archives@getty.edu
Abstract: 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.
Request Materials: Request access to the physical material described in this inventory through its corresponding
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general library access policy . See the Administrative Information section of this finding aid for access restrictions specific to the records described
below. Please note, some of the records may be stored off site; advanced notice is required for access to these materials.
Language: Collection material is in
English
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.
The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Center, which opened to the public in 1997, houses European paintings, drawings, sculpture,
illuminated manuscripts, decorative arts, and European and American photographs. The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa
underwent extensive renovation and expansion from 1997-2006 and reopened to the public on January 28, 2006. The Villa houses
works of art from the Museum's collection of Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities. The J. Paul Getty Museum seeks to further
knowledge of the visual arts by collecting, preserving, exhibiting and interpreting works of art of the highest quality. The
Center and the Villa serve diverse audiences through the Museum's permanent collection, changing exhibitions, conservation,
scholarship, research, and public programs.
"The Exhibition Design Department is a multidisciplinary group, including interior design, graphic design, industrial design,
and architecture. Designers work in small teams with varied assignments that include planning and design of special exhibitions
and permanent installations: interior architecture, space planning, lighting, furnishings, fixtures, showcases, pedestals,
environmental graphics, color, interpretive materials, interactive exhibits, media production, print graphics, site mapping,
and wayfinding signage for gallery and public spaces. The group is responsible for work at the Getty Center and the Villa,
supporting 25-30 exhibitions each year." - from AIGA "Going to the Getty" mailer (1999)
At the time of records creation Irene Martín was Exhibitions Manager, Merritt Price was Exhibition Design Manager, and Ann
Marshall was Exhibition Designer.
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.
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
Materials were transferred by Merritt Price, Head of Museum Exhibition Design, in September 2013.
The collection was minimally processed and the finding aid created by Lauren Jordan in 2014. The materials were transferred
from three-ring binders to archival folders; the large number of oversized papers were kept in the folded condition in which
they arrived, since trying to separate and flatten them would have made it extremely difficult to preserve their context.
The eight carousels' worth of slides were transferred to archival sleeves.
Scope and Content of Collection
The records consist of design plans, gallery and promotional graphics, paint and 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). Getty Center exhibition design records cover the physical design of exhibitions (not the featured
artwork), including their layout, paint and material samples and colors, signage, graphics, and audio-visual elements. The
American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) lecture slides are from a presentation given by Merritt Price, Exhibition Design
Manager, and Dennie Yudell, Publications Design Manager for the J. Paul Getty Trust, that focused on design at the Getty.
They not only cover book and exhibition design, but also design elements found throughout the Center including signage, the
gardens, and merchandise. The materials were compiled by the staff of the Exhibition Design department.
The collection is organized into two series:
Series I. Getty Center exhibition design records, 1991-2006 (bulk 1997-2005);
Series II. American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) lecture slides, 1999.
J. Paul Getty Museum. Exhibition Design
Exhibitions--Design
Museum exhibits
Price, Merritt