01/22/2024
The founder of the Getty Villa never saw it.
J. Paul Getty was living on his estate in England when the museum opened to the public in 1974 and his health was too poor to travel to Los Angeles. Getty passed two years later.
Although Getty never set eyes on his creation, the story of how he built the Villa and assembled his collection pervades the galleries even today. A story that involves Getty's fifth wife, a gallery devoted to his love of the "company of women," and the first fake he ever accidentally purchased: https://gty.art/3vyohWk