The Getty: A world of art, research, conservation, and philanthropy
Getty Research Institute News
Device for distilling lunar humidity, frontispiece of "Chemical Moonshine," Johann Friedrich Fleischer, 1797.
The Getty Research Institute, 950053

CONTINUING THIS MONTH

  Device for distilling lunar humidity, frontispiece of "Chemical Moonshine" (detail), Johann Friedrich Fleischer, 1797. The Getty Research Institute, 950053

The Art of Alchemy

Through February 12, 2017 | The Getty Center
Alchemy was known as the Great Art during the Middle Ages, because it aimed to replicate the actions of nature through chemistry. Distillation was a key part of this process as it extracted essences from plants and minerals of the natural world for use in alchemical practice. Some alchemists even sought to capture the intangible with intricate devices—such as this apparatus for extracting the moon's silvery essence through distilling morning dew—the designs for which are now on display as part of the GRI's latest exhibition The Art of Alchemy.

Gallery tours are offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2:00 p.m.

Find out more about the exhibition.


ANNOUNCEMENTS

  Nathaniel Deines (pictured) worked on the GRI's first born-digital publication as part of his Getty Graduate Internship, 2014.

Getty Graduate Internship Applications Due December 1


For those who are currently pursuing or have recently completed a relevant graduate degree, the Getty Graduate Internship program offers hands-on experience across the four programs of the J. Paul Getty Trust. Opportunities at the GRI include internships in collections management, provenance, and curatorial to digital content management, web and new media development, and publications. Internships run the length of the academic year and begin in September 2018.

Applications are due Thursday, December 1, 2016 by 5:00 p.m. PST.

Learn more and apply online.




  Detail from Knoedler Gallery painting stock book 9, dated between November 1943–February 1952. The Getty Research Institute, 201.M.54 (bx. 9)





German/American Provenance Research Exchange Program Applications Due November 18

The German/American Provenance Research Exchange Program (PREP) brings together museum professionals specializing in World War II-era provenance for the first international, interdisciplinary program of its kind. With the goal of creating an exchange network of German and American art professionals to expand upon and elaborate on the methods and practice behind provenance, the program includes three exchanges over the course of three years between various cities in both countries. Specialists who support this field of study are encouraged to apply, including curators and researchers, archivists, lawyers, and graduate students.

Applications are due November 18, 2016 for the 2017 exchange.

This program is organized by the Smithsonian Provenance Research Initiative and the Central Archives of the National Museums in Berlin, Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, SPK, with six partner institutions—including the GRI, which will host an exchange with Munich in 2018.

Learn more and apply online.


 

Robert Mapplethorpe: The Archive Selected for Paris Photo-Aperture Foundation Award Shortlist


The GRI's volume Robert Mapplethorpe: The Archive was nominated for "Photography Catalogue of the Year" by the 2016 Paris Photo-Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards, which celebrates the "photobook's contribution to the evolving narrative by photography." Written by Frances Terpak and Michelle Brunnick—with essays by singer-songwriter and artist Patti Smith and critic Jonathan Weinberg—Robert Mapplethorpe: The Archive spotlights the photographer's meticulously kept archive, and includes 400 vibrantly reproduced illustrations of documentation and art from all periods of his production.

Buy this title.

Find out more about the archive.

PUBLICATION

 




The Los Angeles Central Library: Building an Architectural Icon, 1872–1933

Kenneth A. Breisch
Chronicling the first six decades of the Los Angeles Public Library, Kenneth Breisch presents the most comprehensive investigation into the institution's early history and architectural beginnings ever published. From 1872 when the library was a two-room private organization, to the completion of the iconic Central Library building designed by Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue in 1933, Breisch uses a wealth of primary source material to tell the story of the sculptural and epigraphic style Goodhue employed to design one of the most important and iconic American buildings of the early 20th century.

Pre-order this title.


NEW FOR RESEARCHERS

  Poster for Art in Los Angeles: Seventeen Artists in the Sixties (curated by Tuchman) and The Museum as Site: Sixteen Projects (curated by Stephanie Barron) held at LACMA, July 21–October 4, 1981. The Getty Research Institute, 2015.M.19

Maurice Tuchman Papers

Finding Aid
The papers of curator Maurice Tuchman document his influential work as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's (LACMA) founding curator of modern art beginning in 1964, and include correspondence, personal papers, and artwork related to his projects, both at LACMA and outside the institution through 2000. Notably, the archive also holds personal photographs taken during the installation of his innovative and controversial exhibition Art and Technology (1971), which explored the convergence of the two disciplines.

Browse the finding aid.








VIDEO

  Fan Jinshi at the Getty Center, 2016.

Cave Temples of Dunhuang: History, Art, and Materiality

Videos from May 20–21, 2016, Symposium
Complementing the exhibition Cave Temples of Dunhuang: Buddhist Art on China's Silk Road, this two-day symposium brought together more than 20 international scholars to discuss the Mogao Grottoes, their wealth of history related to religion, art, and commerce since the 4th century, and the innovative approaches to their conservation today. Seven videos are available from the symposium, including a keynote on Mogao's distinctive geography and history from Peking University's Rong Xinjiang.

Watch the videos.

REMINDER

If Venice Dies with Salvatore Settis

Lecture and Book Signing | November 5, 2016 | 2:00 p.m. | The Getty Center

CONNECT WITH US


    Subscribe to the podcast—hear from artists, writers, curators, and scholars about their work.

Follow us, learn about what we do, and tell us about your visit!


At the Getty
Exhibitions and event highlights

Exploring Antiquity
For students and scholars of classical cultures

Getty Museum News
New insights and a behind-the-scenes look at the world of the Getty Museum

GCI Bulletin
News from the Getty Conservation Institute

 

Getty Foundation News
Grants that increase the understanding and preservation of the visual arts around the world

Art Bound: New Books from the Getty
Find out what we're reading

The Getty Store: Inspired Gifts and Books
Notifications of new arrivals, private sales and special offers

 
 

CONTACT US

General inquiries: griweb@getty.edu
Library reference inquiries: Contact the GRI
Press inquiries: communications@getty.edu or visit the Getty's Press Room

The Getty Research Institute
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1688
www.getty.edu