Getty continues its online-accessible series of exhibits and art exploration. Explore the range of online events, podcasts, and articles.
Opening a treasure trove of Black history
Rows upon rows of ordinary-looking boxes fill an unassuming warehouse in Chicago. But what’s inside these boxes is anything but ordinary: Ebony and Jet magazine photographs of Ray Charles taking business calls, Louis Armstrong celebrating his birthday, Maya Angelou lounging on her bed, and millions more striking images of Black celebrities and everyday life tucked away in the vast Johnson Publishing Company archive. Getty has partnered with the Smithsonian to digitize the entire archive over the course of seven years—but what steps have we made so far?
Dreaming of Venus and the sea monster
Do you know the difference between “high relief” and “bas-relief”? Or that “relief” is not just what you hope for after popping two Advil? In a new series we’ll explore art terms you may or may not know. Consider it an art history primer for grownups, but much more fun (and there’s no pop quiz at the end).
Lesson 1 (includes a Becoming Artsy video!)
Celebrate Pride with Getty!
We’ve brought together stories of artists and changemakers whose stories have made an impact in the fight for LGBTQ rights. Learn about the decades-long love affair between Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Hal Fischer’s study of the gay community’s coded fashion choices, the pioneering LA gay bar the Black Cat, and more!
Events, art stories, and more in honor of LGBTQ history
The Gold Emperor from Aventicum
This unique portrait bust of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, who ruled 161–180 CE, was excavated in Avenches, Switzerland—the ancient Roman site of Aventicum—in 1939. Discover this remarkable object, made by hammering a single sheet of gold, and explore the history of an ancient city where Roman institutions blended with the local traditions of a Celtic tribe known as the Helvetii.
Powerful connections
Photographers Dawoud Bey and Carrie Mae Weems were born in 1953, met in 1976, and have spent the last 45 years in each other’s sphere of influence. How does a lifetime of friendship and professional success influence the work of two world-renowned artists? A close look at their photographs reveals compelling parallels.
See the photographs
Related online talk: Dreams Undeferred: The Images of Dawoud Bey and Carrie Mae Weems
Bringing ocean to land
In Mercedes Dorame’s installation Woshaa’axre Yaang’aro (Tongva for “looking back”), shells 4 to 12 feet tall hang from the Museum Entrance Hall ceiling, and murals of the Southern California coastline as seen from Catalina Island wrap around the walls. Dorame’s intent? To invite visitors to imagine Catalina from the Tongva people’s perspective. “No matter where you’re from, there are First Peoples of that place and they are still there,” she says. “How do we acknowledge and learn from them?”
Learn more about Dorame and her new Getty Center installation
Should Anne of Brittany have her own HBO drama?
Anne of Brittany married King Charles VIII of France when she was just 14; became a widow at 21 when he fatally hit his head on a lintel; was pressured into marrying his cousin, Louis XII, who annulled his marriage to free himself up for her; oh, but there’s more.
Getty medievalist Larisa Grollemond makes a case for a fascinating biopic
Who was this?
Learn about a rare marble sculpture created more than four thousand years ago in the Cycladic Islands in the Aegean Sea. Getty’s Nicole Budrovich and Smarthistory’s Beth Harris discuss the figure’s identity and how the work was made, the importance of music during the time, and how the sculpture’s style influenced Picasso, Henry Moore, and other 20th-century artists.