The Ann & Gordon Getty Collection at Christie's Begins World Tour
NEW YORK - Christie's is proud to unveil the first set of highlights from The Ann & Gordon Getty Collection, a carefully selected group of decorative and fine art masterpieces of unmatched quality and provenance. The Ann & Gordon Getty Collection will be sold over four evening and day auctions in New York from October 20 – 23, 2022, in addition to a series of online sales of textiles, handbags, and jewelry. The sales will offer more than 1,500 lots from Ann and Gordon Getty's legendary San Francisco residence, widely recognized as one of the finest interiors in the world. Proceeds will benefit the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation for the Arts, dedicated to supporting arts and science organizations. Beginning in September, the Collection will embark on an international tour, presenting exceptional works from the sales at Christie's galleries in Shanghai, London, Paris, and Los Angeles, culminating with an immersive presentation at Rockefeller Center in New York.
Guillaume Cerutti, Christie’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “The Ann & Gordon Getty Collection is a privilege to present at Christie’s. Establishing vital philanthropic support for the arts and sciences, the Gettys’ impeccably assembled collection of exceptional masterworks from Europe, Asia and The Americas is poised to inspire collectors worldwide and will be a defining moment of Christie’s fall season.”
With a global sensibility, the Gettys brought together exquisite objects from the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The leading lots of The Ann & Gordon Getty Collection are masterworks of American painting, English and European furniture, Asian works of art, and more. The sales include important Impressionist pictures by Claude Monet and Edgar Degas and an exquisite group of Old Master paintings and drawings by artists, including Bernardo Bellotto and Jean-Antoine Watteau. A distinguished group of English and continental furniture complemented the fine art in the Gettys’ house. Ann and Gordon Getty had a special love for lacquered furniture produced in England and Europe, inspired by Chinese and Japanese prototypes that reached the West in the 17th Century. These works demonstrate the life-long dedication to beauty and connoisseurship the Gettys displayed throughout their collecting journey.
Christie's also will hold a series of online sales of lifestyle, entertaining, and luxury items from the Getty Collection, including textiles, handbags, and jewelry owned by Mrs. Getty.
LIVE SALES
The Ann & Gordon Getty Collection | New York
Volume 1 | Important Pictures and Decorative Arts, Evening Sale | October 20, 6:00 PM
Volume 2 | Old Masters, 19th and 20th Century Paintings, Day Sale | October 21, 10:00 AM
Volume 3 | English and European Furniture, Porcelain and Silver | October 22, 10:00 AM
Volume 4 | Chinese Works of Art, English, and European Furniture & Decorative Arts | October 23, 10:00 AM
ONLINE SALES
6 online sales of lifestyle, entertaining, textiles, and luxury items – schedule here.
TOUR SCHEDULE
SHANGHAI | September 11 – 13
LONDON | September 12 – 18
LOS ANGELES | September 21 – 24
PARIS | September 27 – October 1
NEW YORK | October 15 – 23
ABOUT ANN AND GORDON GETTY
Ann Getty (1941-2020) is remembered as a philanthropist, publisher, author, interior designer, and patron of the arts. A California native, Mrs. Getty grew up on a farm in Wheatland, CA. She founded Ann Getty and Associates, a San Francisco-based residential interior design firm. Mrs. Getty was an influential benefactor to countless organizations throughout her lifetime, including the University of California Berkeley, the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Leakey Foundation, and the Napa Valley Festival. In New York, she served on the boards of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, and New York University.
Gordon Peter Getty (b.1933) is a philanthropist and American composer who has made a lifetime of contributions to the world of classical music. In 2019, he was awarded the prestigious European Culture Prize, recognizing his extraordinary legacy. Gordon Getty's music has been performed in such prestigious venues as New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, London’s Royal Festival Hall, Vienna’s Brahmssaal, Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Hall and Bolshoi Theatre, and Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts, as well as at the Aspen, Spoleto and Bad Kissingen Festivals, and Festival Napa Valley. He is the fourth child of J. Paul Getty (1892-1976), whose celebrated collection of art and antiquities formed the basis of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
ABOUT THE ANN AND GORDON GETTY FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS
The Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation for the Arts was established in 2022 to fulfill Mr. and Mrs. Getty’s joint philanthropic commitment to creativity and learning and their belief that art, in all its forms, is vital to ensuring a community’s prosperity. The Foundation, funded with the Getty Art Collection, will use proceeds from the Christie’s sale to support a group of leading California-based arts and science organizations with whom the Gettys have had a longstanding relationship, including the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Symphony, University of San Francisco, Berkeley Geochronology Center, and the Leakey Foundation. The Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation for the Arts plans to distribute all of its charitable resources within the next three to five years, seeking to leave a legacy to carry future generations forward.
