Old Treasures, Today’s Joy : Fleischman acquisition is another coup for the Getty Museum

The J. Paul Getty Museum has scored another coup--and surprise--for art lovers in Southern California. Through gift and purchase, the museum has acquired an outstanding 300-piece collection of antiquities, timeless treasures from the Greek, Roman and Etruscan worlds, worth about $60 million.

In the year 2000, when a three-year reconstruction is complete and the museum reopens the doors of its Roman-style villa in Malibu, it will be the only major U.S. museum devoted solely to antiquities.

The collection was amassed by Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman of New York, and elements of it were displayed at the Getty in 1994. It was this experience that led the Fleischmans to view the Getty as the right place to house their works. “We got great joy when we saw public interest in our collection in Los Angeles,” Barbara Fleischman said, adding that the “sense of quality and scholarship” that characterizes the Getty weighed heavily in their decision.

The variety and quality of the Fleischman pieces complement the existing Getty antiquities. The gift/purchase contains sculptures and functional objects in a variety of materials, including terra cotta, marble, bronze and glass. Fresco panels and jewelry are in gold and silver.

In the fall of 1997, all the collections now housed in Malibu, with the exception of the antiquities, will be moved to the new Getty Center in Brentwood. Then, by the arrival of the new millennium, the old Malibu villa will be reopened as a one-of-a kind museum celebrating the arts of millenniums past.