Research Institute

An international center for the study of visual culture

What We Do

The Getty Research Institute cultivates advanced knowledge of art and its varied histories through scholarship, collections, programs, and public resources.

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Who We Are

  1. About the Getty Research Institute

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    Discover our mission and history

    Learn about our purpose

  2. Getty Library and Special Collections

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    Explore our research collections, including books, rare materials, and archives

  3. Research Programs and Tools

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    Find grants, programs, tools, and databases that support research and scholarship

Exhibition

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Exhibition How to Be a Guerrilla Girl

Coinciding with the Guerrilla Girls’ 40th anniversary, the exhibition tells the story of their collaborative process and longstanding commitment to call for equity for women and artists of color in the art world

A nude female with the head of a gorilla mask reclines against a background of neon pink showing photo strips of people in skirts, boots, and gorilla masks posting in a studio.
Overleaf, foreground: Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into The Met Museum? (detail), 1989, Offset print; background: Contact Sheets (details), ca. 1987, Gelatin silver prints. Guerrilla Girls (American, active since 1985). Getty Research Institute, [2008.M.14][1]. Courtesy Guerrilla Girls. © Guerrilla Girls. Design © 2025 J. Paul Getty Trust [1]: http://primo.getty.edu/GRI:GETTY_ALMA21141175040001551

Events

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  1. Variations on a Theme: Benjamin Patterson’s Scores

    Performance

    Sat, Mar 7, 2026, 1am

  2. Performance, Protest, Preservation: The Legacy of High Performance Magazine

    Talk

    A collage of brightly colored magazine covers, each with the title "High Performance"
    Fri, Apr 3, 2026, 4:30pm

  3. Poetry in the Garden: Scores

    Performance

    A person read poetry into a microphone beside another person playing guitar for a small crowd on a sunny day in a large garden
    Sun, Apr 12, 2026, 6:30pm

Explore Our Work

Project From Vision to Archive: The Legacy of Paul R. Williams

Bringing the work of this groundbreaking Southern California architect to the broader public

Williams sits behind a table and points something out on a 3D model of a house to another person sitting with his back to the camera.

Finding Aid Simone Forti Papers

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Special Collections

Getty Research Institute Special Collections highlights

Print featuring mythical creatures covering the entirety of the left side; the right side is a continuation of the print featuring abstractions and geometric patterns

Resources

Access tools, databases, grants, and initiatives that advance research, teaching, and scholarship in the histories of visual art and cultural heritage

  1. Tools and Databases

    Find free tools and resources that support research

  2. Getty Library and Special Collections

    Explore one of the world’s largest art historical research libraries

  3. Funding Opportunities

    Find grants and fellowships that support new scholarship

  4. Research Initiatives

    Discover our collaborations and projects that support art research

  5. Academic Outreach

    Learn about our resources, partnerships, and programs for faculty and students

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Publications

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News & Stories

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  1. Right Hand Man

    Article

    Free-form sketch of the Walt Disney Concert Hall on paper.

    How Frank Gehry’s sketching practice lent a musicality to his buildings

    Feb 18, 2026

  2. Inside a Modernist Beacon in Koreatown

    Article

    Street view of a white building with decorative concrete screens.

    A Getty grant is helping a historic church designed by “Hollywood’s architect” to better serve its community

    Feb 18, 2026

  3. Three Major Los Angeles Art Institutions Celebrate Paul R. Williams

    Press Release

    A negative space drawing of a church with figures of attendees, green trees, and blue sky.

    Getty, LACMA, and USC Fisher Museum of Art present a landmark, multi-site exhibition series honoring the life and work of groundbreaking architect Paul R. Williams.

    Feb 18, 2026

Stay Connected

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Staff & Contact

Senior Leadership

  1. Andrew Perchuk

    Interim Director, Getty Research Institute

  2. Susan Baldocchi

    Associate Director, Administration

  3. Kara Olidge

    Associate Director, Collections & Discovery

  4. Nancy Um

    Associate Director, Research & Knowledge Creation

  5. Khristaan Villela

    Associate Director, Dissemination & External Affairs

General Inquiries