Collecting Antiquities: J.P. Getty and His Legacy

J.P. Getty’s genuine passion for ancient art translated into a prized collection of Roman and Greek marbles. Upon his death in 1976, the curators of the newly founded Getty Trust went on a buying spree, often without paying due attention to the provenance of artworks. This resulted in the purchase of hundreds of looted antiquities, many of which had to be returned to their source countries. Dr. Silvia Beltrametti is a Lecturer in the Department of Art History, Theory and Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.