Getty troubles ripple through the art world

Leadership vacuum
All this comes amid a leadership vacuum at the Getty.

The museum’s former director abruptly left last year owing to differences with executives at the Getty Trust, which oversees the museum and divisions of art conservation, research and philanthropy. The acting director has also departed to head the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

The trust has its own troubles. The Los Angeles Times has detailed lavish spending by the office of the nonprofit trust’s chief executive, Barry Munitz, and both the Council on Foundations and the California attorney general’s office have launched inquiries.

A few weeks before the antiquities villa reopens, Michael Brand, 47, will take over as museum director. Brand — an expert in Indian art who has been director of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts since 2000 — did not return calls seeking comment, and Getty officials indicated he would not be available for an interview until assuming his post Dec. 1.

In Virginia, Brand helped raise $158 million to expand the museum. He previously headed museums and galleries in his native Australia, Pakistan and Rhode Island. He has said he will arrive at the Getty enthusiastic and optimistic and not thinking “this is a museum needing radical change.”

Fallout from the current situation will likely make museum officials more inclined to aggressively check the documentation of an artifact to ensure it isn’t tainted. Whether the outcry and trial will dampen public enthusiasm for the Getty is another matter.

“In the art world, people will still look at various pieces the Getty has and say these are questionable,” said Thomas, the art law expert. “Outside the art community, the press and media attention will die down and people will enjoy going to the Getty.”

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