Getty Center

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Getty Center art museum complex in Brentwood, Calif., operated by the J. Paul Getty Trust. It consists of six buildings on 124 acres (50 hectares) located on a spectacular promontory overlooking Los Angeles. Designed by architect Richard Meier , the center opened in 1997. The museum houses the Getty collections of European paintings, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, and decorative arts and American and European photographs. The complex also maintains a research library and archives, which include performance and lecture facilities; conservation and art historical research institutes; and educational and computer centers. The first Getty Museum was located at J. Paul Getty's home in Malibu. The second is a Roman-style villa in Malibu that opened in 1974 and after major renovations reopened in 2006; it now exhibits the Getty's outstanding collection of classical antiquities and serves as a center for comparative archaeology and cultures.