STARKS’ ESTATE TO GIVE GETTY 28 SCULPTURES

In a surprising acquisition that trumpets a new direction for the J. Paul Getty Museum’s collections and is expected to transform the grounds of the Getty Center, the Getty Trust has received 28 modern sculptures from the estate of the late film producer Ray Stark and his wife, Fran. The donation ranges from a 1911 torso by Aristide Maillol to a 1988 abstraction by Ellsworth Kelly and includes pieces by renowned figures such as Alberto Giacometti, Henry Moore and Alexander Calder.

The multimillion-dollar acquisition -- the exact value of which was not disclosed -- adds works by many leading 20th century artists to a collection that previously ended in the 19th century, except for photography. All the works will be installed out-of-doors on the Brentwood campus, with many pieces located in a sculpture garden near the entrance to the tram; others will be stationed around the grounds and plazas.

The collection had been expected to go to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, where Ray Stark was a longtime trustee. But LACMA’s negotiations for the collection broke down last summer.

“We tried,” said Andrea L. Rich, LACMA president and director. “We talked about it with Ray, we developed some plans and we still have a warm relationship with his daughter, Wendy Stark Morrissey, who is on our board. But after Ray died, the trust took over. They required that the work be installed by a certain date. As our building project developed, we couldn’t comply. We had to consider the collection within the context of that project.”

There were other stumbling blocks, Rich added, such as requirements that all the art be shown together on a permanent basis and that nothing be sold.

Getty Trust President Barry Munitz said that representatives of the Stark Trust contacted the Getty last October to pursue the possibility of a gift.

“My first question was if this was a bidding contest and if LACMA was involved,” Munitz said. “If that was the case, I wanted no part of it.”

Munitz said he received repeated assurances that in accepting the gift, the Getty would not be taking anything away from LACMA.

The Stark collection signals an expansion of the Getty’s collecting parameters but not a plunge into the contemporary art market, Munitz said.

“We are not going to be going out and aggressively buying modern and contemporary art, the way we do in our established areas,” he said, “but this is an area that is of interest to Los Angeles, where many people collect modern and contemporary art. If people come to us with this kind of special collection, wanting to make a donation, we are interested in having a conversation.”

The gift also forges a bond between the Getty and the entertainment community, he added. “We haven’t had close connections because most of the people in that area collect modern and contemporary art. One of the wonderful things about this, apart from the fact that it will enhance the physical site and it was all donated, is that it comes from a crucial entertainment family in Los Angeles.”

William Griswold, acting director and chief curator of the Getty Museum, said that the Stark collection will form a bridge between the museum’s collections of earlier European sculpture and commissioned contemporary pieces, such as Martin Puryear’s sculpture on the plaza and Robert Irwin’s garden. Some of the Stark works may be stationed near the museum to set up relationships with the art on display inside the building and with the architecture, he said.

The Stark collection also complements the photography holding and modern and contemporary archives at the Getty Research Institute, Griswold added. The Getty plans to development a sculpture tour and brochure for individual visitors and school groups. A class on the history of figurative sculpture is also in the planning stages.

Perhaps the most important piece in the collection is Giacometti’s towering bronze “Standing Woman I,” a classic example of the Swiss artist’s emaciated figures, made in 1960. The collection is also strong in British sculpture created during the third quarter of the 20th century, Griswold said, citing large bronze figures by Moore and Barbara Hepworth. But the Starks collected with a broad international reach, including pieces by French artist Fernand Leger, Spaniard Joan Miro, Italian Giacomo Manzu and Americans George Rickey, Joel Shapiro, Peter Shelton and Jack Zajac. One of the most contemporary statements is American Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein’s “Three Brushstrokes,” a painted aluminum work that magnifies details of a painting and puts a spotlight on a work in progress.

Ray Stark is probably best known as the producer of such films as “The Night of the Iguana,” “The Way We Were,” “The Goodbye Girl” and “Reflections in a Golden Eye.” “Funny Girl,” one of his best-loved works, was based on the life of Fanny Brice, the mother of Stark’s wife, Fran.

The Starks collected modern art for many years and displayed it at their home in Los Angeles, with many sculptures installed outside. Several artworks from their collection were sold at auction last May, including a painting of waterlilies by French Impressionist Claude Monet that brought $16.8 million. The sculptures were retained for a gift to a cultural institution.

No timetable has been set for their installation, Munitz said, but plans are underway. Once the plans are complete, he said, “we will put this on a fast track.”