J. Paul Getty Museum. Dept. of Paintings

When the J. Paul Getty Museum first opened in 1954, the three distinct collections of art were, in order of importance, decorative arts, Greek and Roman antiquities, and paintings. Though Getty continued purchasing art, if somewhat sporadically, the paintings collection remained the weakest part of the collection through the 1960s. In the early 1970's, however, with the construction of the Villa Museum, Getty began to purchase art more actively and the initial major curatorial departments were developed. Following Getty's death (1976) and during the settlement of his estate (1982), the Museum Trust discussed the future direction of the Museum and decided to strengthen the three existing collections, in addition to adding a few new ones. The Paintings Department's chief activity in the 1980s was the pursuit of major acquisitions, care and conservation of the art works, publication of information about the collection, management storage space, and maintenance and refurbishing of the gallery space. The Provenance index, originally developed under the Paintings Department, was separated from Paintings at the end of the 1982-1983 fiscal year.

Burton F. Fredericksen served as Museum Curator from 1965 to 1971 (prior to the hiring of Gillian Wilson), as Chief Museum Curator from 1972 to October 1973 (prior to the hiring of Stephen Garrett as Deputy Director in 1973), and as Curator of Paintings from October 1973 to1984. [Note: Walsh/Gribbon, Museum for a New Century, states that his tenure as Chief Curator lasted until 1977; however, his correspondence belies this, as he signs his title as "Curator of Paintings" prior to that year.] Fresericksen had a M.A. from UCLA, was a Fulbright fellow to Germany, was employed by the Kunsthistoriches Institute in Florence, and then as Adjunct Professor for Renaissance and Baroque Paintings at the Los Angeles County Museum. He published, with Harvard University, a Census of Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections, wrote the catalog of paintings at the Los Angeles County Museum, and completed a catalog of early Italian paintings at the Detroit Institute of Arts. He also wrote the guide to the paintings at San Simeon, books on Giovanni di Francesco, Francesco di Giorgio, Benuvento di Giovanni, and a variety of books and articles for the Museum. His specialty was primarily Italian Art, but he was generally knowledgeable about all western European painting prior to 1800. On September 1, 1984, Fredericksen was appointed to the newly created position of Senior Curator for Research to oversee the growth and development of the Provenance Index and to continue work on the publication of the Museum's paintings.

Myron Laskin served as Curator of Paintings from September 1984 through February 1989. Laskin received his Ph.D. from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, taught Art History at Washington University, St. Louis, and served as Curator of European Art at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa for 16 years. George Goldner, Curator of Drawings, became Acting Curator of Paintings on March 1, 1989 for the purpose of directing the department for an interim period of one year, but continued a Curator until 1993.

Thomas Kren, born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1950, was the Associate Curator from 1980 to 1984. He had a Ph.D. from Yale, collaborated on the Catalog of Paintings at the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, and published articles on various Dutch artists. Besides teaching at Yale and the University of California at Santa Barbara, he served as student curatorial assistant at the Cleveland Museum and the Yale University Art Gallery. His specialty was Dutch and Flemish art. In 1984 he became the Curator of Manuscripts.