I’m probably not the only one who did a doubletake upon seeing this alarming red alert atop the J. Paul Getty Trust’s webpage for its press releases:
This “Advisory” raised the scary specter of masterpieces going up in flames. Then I remembered that the Getty Museum, located in Brentwood, where the particularly fire-vulnerable pictures are housed, is distinct from the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, home to the museum’s Greek and Roman antiquities. More importantly though, a Getty spokesperson, who fired off a prompt reply to my panicked inquiry, assured me that “the Villa’s collection and the site are safe and not affected by the fire. The [Getty] Center is not affected and is open to staff and the public.” [PHEW!]
Photo by Lee Rosenbaum
As I’ve previously written (here and here), the Getty has had a few close calls with smoke and fire. (Let’s not even talk about the possibility of earthquakes on a site that sits on a fault line.)
CultureGrrl readers with long memories and a strong sense of humor may wonder if the Getty is still employing goats to prevent fires—engaging their services “to nibble away the flammable brush around its 110-acre hillside campus in Brentwood,” as I wrote here, in all seriousness. I couldn’t resist asking if these quadrupeds were still prowling the grounds and mowing the lawn.
“The goats are no longer working for us!” the Getty’s spokesperson informed me in her emailed reply. “We stopped using them in the early 2010s.”
No more goats? Baa-a-ah, humbug!. That said (or bleated), GOAT has recently taken on a new meaning, which arguably does have relevance to the current Getty—“Greatest Of All Time.”
For now, Getty-goers in search of goats may have to content themselves with this (if and when the ram-bunctious terracotta goes on view):
525–500 B.C., Getty Museum
Unknown artist/maker
But seriously: I have always worried that it’s only a matter of time before calamity befalls this priceless, precarious collection. Happily, there have thus far been no reports of injuries, let alone scorched masterpieces, during the current crisis. But thousands of people have reportedly been evacuated.
Stay safe, everyone!
