plundered art: Deconstructing Aphrodite: the Getty Art Museum, looted antiquities and the art trade

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January 29, 2012

The 4th century BC marble sculpture of winged griffins at center of controversy, acquired illegally by the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1985
Source: NPR

An interesting event took place on Tuesday 24 January at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. The theme of this cultural evening, organized by

Keri Douglas, the highly-accomplished energetic chief executive of Nine Muses International

, focused on the international scandal surrounding the

J. Paul Getty Museum’s

unabashed no-holds barred acquisitions of illegally excavated Greek and Roman antiquities. To make a real long story short,

Marion True, a senior curator of antiquities at the Getty

, was left holding the bag and has been the subject of a number of lawsuits, especially in Italy, where she was forced to stand trial.

Getty Center, Los Angeles, CA
Source: Wikipedia

Getty Villa, Pacific Palisades, CA
Source: Wikipedia

The main speakers were

Arthur Houghton, formerly of the Getty

and a character in the saga of the looted antiquities,

Gary Vikan, director of the Baltimore-based Walters Art Museum

, and a self-proclaimed reformer amongst his museum director peers,

Jason Felch and Ralph Frammolino

, co-authors of the book, “Chasing Aphrodite” who led the investigation into the illicit Getty acquisitions, and James Grimaldi, a Washington Post investigative reporter who has undertaken a fair number of inquiries into corruption, high and low.

Jason Felch
Source: Chasing Aphrodite

Ralph Frammolino
Source: Chasing Aphrodite

The story itself is worthy of a mini-series. The comments by all involved, however entertaining and mildly caustic, reaffirmed some long-held truths and realities about the international art market, museums, the search for truth in ownership, and the knotty question of ethics—whether one can be ethical and be a collector, dealer, museum director or curator.

Marion True
Source: The Art Newspaper

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