“We honor Lord Rothschild not only for the extent of his distinguished service to the arts but for the quality of his work and the important contribution to the conservation and deeper appreciation of the world’s artistic legacy,” said J. Paul Getty Trust President and CEO James Cuno in presenting the medal.
In accepting the award, Lord Rothschild spoke admiringly of Getty’s contributions to the arts and humanities, including contributions by Getty’s son and grandson to British institutions with which Lord Rothschild has been associated. He also spoke of the links between the Getty Museum and the Rothschild family collections. “If you were to look in the index of the catalogue of the Getty’s decorative arts collection you would find no less than thirty-eight Rothschilds from whom the Getty has made acquisitions,” he said.
“I want to say how much I appreciate this totally unexpected and generous honor which you have given me,” he said in concluding his remarks.
Nearly 250 guests from across the art world attended to honor Lord Rothschild at a dinner in a pavilion on the plaza of the landmark Getty Center, designed by Pritzker-Prize-winning architect Richard Meier. Attendees included artists Ed Ruscha, Charles Ray, Tacita Dean and Matthew Hale. Also attending were Deborah Swallow, Märit Rausing Director of the Courtauld institute of Art; James Snyder, Anne and Jerome Fisher Director of The Israel Museum; Steven S. Koblik, president of The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens; Stephen Lavine, president of California Institute of the Arts and Ann Philbin, director of the Hammer Museum.
Other notables included producer William Friedkin and former chair of the Motion Pictures Group of Paramount Pictures Sherry Lansing; Lord Frederick Windsor, Carole Black, former CEO and president of Lifetime TV; Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky; former California attorney general John Van de Kamp; former Getty Trust president and CEO and previous Getty Medal Award-winner Harold Williams, and philanthropist and art collector Shelby White, among others.
Getty trustees Mark S. Siegel, Joanne C. Kozberg, David Lee, Michael Lynton, Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana, William E. B. Siart, Ronald P. Spogli. Peter J. Taylor, Maria Hummer Tuttle and Jay S. Wintrob also attended, as did J. Paul Getty Museum director Timothy Potts, Getty Research Institute director Thomas Gaehtgens and Getty Conservation Institute director Tim Whalen.
The J. Paul Getty Medal was established in 2013 by the Trustees of the J. Paul Getty Trust to recognize living individuals from all over the world for their leadership in the fields in which the Getty works. The first recipients were Harold M. Williams and Nancy Englander, who were honored for their leadership in creating the Getty as it exists today, a global leader in art history, conservation and museum practice.
The Second Annual Getty Medal Dinner was generously supported by the J. Paul Getty Trust Board of Trustees. Wine and Fiji Water were generously provided by Lynda and Stewart Resnick.
A selection of photos is available at here. Additional images are available upon request.
About Jacob Rothschild, Fourth Baron Rothschild OM GBE
Lord Rothschild has served as Chairman of the National Gallery of Art, London; Chairman of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Chairman of the Pritzker Prize for Architecture; Trustee and Honorary Fellow of the Courtauld Institute of Art; and Trustee of the State Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg and the Qatar Museums Authority.
Dedicated to the preservation and public interpretation of significant built heritage, he played a key role in the restoration of Somerset House, the most important 18th- century public building in London, and Spencer House, the refined 18th-century neo-classic London house designed by James Stuart for John, first Earl Spencer. He is also responsible for the Family Estate at Waddesdon together with Waddesdon Manor, the property which the Rothschild Foundation leases from the National Trust.
In 2002 he was awarded the Order of Merit by Her Majesty the Queen. Members of the Order are limited in number to 24 and the order is given to those who have rendered exceptionally meritorious service in the field of the arts, learning, literature and science.
Lord Rothschild serves as Chairman of Yad Hanadiv, the Rothschild Family Foundation dedicated to the advancement of education, the environment, academic excellence and civil society in Israel. The Foundation was recently responsible for the building of the Supreme Court in Jerusalem and is currently committed to the creation of the new National Library. With Lord Sainsbury of Preston of Candover, Lord Rothschild established the Butrint Foundation, supporting excavations and conservation of ancient sites at Butrint, Albania. Lord Rothschild is Chairman of RIT Capital Partners plc and J Rothschild Capital Management.
About J. Paul Getty and the J. Paul Getty Trust
J. Paul Getty viewed art as a civilizing influence in society and strongly believed in making art available to the public for education and enjoyment. Acting on this belief, he gave significant pieces to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art starting in 1948. He decided to establish his own museum to provide public access to his personal collection, and opened the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1954. This small museum, established in his ranch house in Malibu (today, Pacific Palisades), housed collections of Greek and Roman antiquities, 18th-century French furniture, and European paintings.
Most of Mr. Getty’s personal estate passed to the Trust in 1982 after his death in 1976. The Trustees sought to make a greater contribution to the visual arts by expanding the Museum and its collections, and created a range of new programs to serve the world of art. During his lifetime and thereafter, Mr. Getty’s philanthropy enabled the construction of the Villa in Pacific Palisades and the Getty Center in Brentwood, the expansion of the collections of the Museum, and the creation of the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Research Institute, and the Getty Foundation.