African American Art History Getty’s New Initiative

With acquisition of a world-renowned artist Betye Saar’s archive, Getty Research Institute launched its African American Art History initiative.

Betye Saar is known as one of the most innovative and visionary artists of our era, whose large-scale installations have had a profound impact on artists and audiences nationally and internationally. Creating assemblages with innovative materials, Saar constantly addressed the personal and societal effects of race, incorporating seamlessly African American Histrory into the canvas of her artistic practice. Her works played a large role in the Institute’s massive project Pacific Standard Time: Art in LA 1945-1980, earlier last year, and now the acquisition of Betye Saar’s archive launches the new endeavor of the Getty Research Institute. The Initiative aims to establish a dedicated curatorship in African American Art History, as well as annual research fellowship and cross-field partnerships.