Getty Scholar Program

Getty Scholar Program
Name	Getty Scholar Program
Type	Fellowship
Location	Los Angeles, California, United States
Established	1985
Administered by	Getty Research Institute
Website	Getty Research Institute

Contents

Getty Scholar Program

The Getty Scholar Program is a residential fellowship administered by the Getty Research Institute at the J. Paul Getty Trust in Los Angeles. It supports advanced research by bringing together scholars from institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, British Museum, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Smithsonian Institution, and National Gallery of Art to pursue projects connected with collections at the Getty Center, Getty Villa, and partner institutions including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and The Huntington Library. The program fosters engagement among researchers affiliated with universities, museums, libraries, and cultural institutions like Harvard University, University of Oxford, Yale University, Columbia University, and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Overview

The Getty Scholar Program invites scholars to undertake sustained study related to visual arts and material culture across periods associated with the Renaissance, Baroque, Enlightenment, Modernism, and Contemporary art. Fellows come from backgrounds associated with institutions including the Tate Modern, Museum of Modern Art, National Gallery (London), Princeton University, and Stanford University. The program emphasizes connections to collections at the Getty Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Museo del Prado, Louvre, and Uffizi Gallery, while encouraging cross-disciplinary dialogue with figures from the American Academy in Rome, Max Planck Society, and CNRS.

Founded in 1985 as part of initiatives by the J. Paul Getty Trust during the expansion of the Getty Center campus, the program evolved alongside major projects such as the opening of the Getty Villa and exhibitions curated with partners like the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Directors and administrators linked to the program have collaborated with curators and historians from the Getty Conservation Institute, British Library, Archivio di Stato di Firenze, and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Over time, the program broadened its remit to include scholars engaged with digital humanities projects tied to institutions such as the Digital Public Library of America, Europeana, and Smithsonian Digital Volunteers.

Fellows are selected through a competitive process involving peer review from advisory committees composed of members affiliated with organizations such as Princeton University, University of Cambridge, University of Chicago, New York University, and California Institute of Technology. The selection emphasizes projects demonstrating connections to collections at museums and libraries including the Getty Research Institute, British Museum, Bodleian Library, Morgan Library & Museum, and Palazzo Pitti. Appointments typically last from several weeks to a full academic year, with recipients drawn from faculty and researchers affiliated with entities like Columbia University, Sorbonne University, University of Toronto, Australian National University, and Keio University.

Residents receive office space, access to the Getty Research Institute library, and opportunities to work with curators from institutions such as the Getty Conservation Institute, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Art Institute of Chicago, Detroit Institute of Arts, and Cleveland Museum of Art. The program provides access to special collections, digital image databases, and conservation laboratories linked to partners like the Cleveland Museum of Art, Rijksmuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Getty Provenance Index, and International Internet Museum. Residency activities include seminars, public lectures, and workshops featuring visiting scholars from Brown University, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, McGill University, and University of Melbourne.

The program has hosted scholars whose work intersects with figures and institutions such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Édouard Manet, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Marcel Duchamp, Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, and curators associated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tate Britain, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and National Portrait Gallery (London). Alumni have produced influential publications and exhibitions that have been realized at venues including the Louvre Museum, Museo del Prado, Victoria and Albert Museum, National Gallery of Art (Washington), and Centre Pompidou. The program’s legacy is visible in collaborative projects with the Getty Conservation Institute, policy initiatives involving the International Council of Museums, digitization partnerships with Europeana Foundation, and scholarly contributions distributed through presses such as Oxford University Press, Yale University Press, and University of California Press.