The J. Paul Getty Museum's collection of antiquities, even at an early date, was recognized as one of the strongest in the United States, and was Mr. Getty's personal passion, an area in which he focused far more than paintings or furniture. The acquisition of the Getty Bronze in the mid 1970s represented a high point in the museum's collecting. Jiří Frel (b. 1923 in Veselichko, Czechoslovakia) was the Museum's first Curator of Antiquities, assuming the position in January 1973. Frel studied at the École Normale Supérieure, Sorbonne in Paris, volunteered at the Louvre, and received his Ph.D. from the Charles University in Prague in 1948. His dissertation was on the subject of Roman portraits in the 2nd to beginning of the 3rd century A.D.. In the same year he served as Assistant in Greek and Roman Art at the Charles University, later becoming Assistant Professor in 1951, Associate Professor in 1957, and Full Professor in 1967. He taught art at the Charles University in Prague until 1969. Leaving Czechoslovakia in the wake of the events of 1968, he spent six months at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, two months as visiting professor at the University of Genoa, and was Senior Research Fellow and later Associate Curator of Greek and Roman art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1970-1972. He was also a member of the German Archaeological Institute.
Frel left the Getty Museum and returned to Europe around 1987 in the wake of a scandal involving art donations, published in the April 1987 issue of Connoisseur magazine by Thomas Hoving and Geraldine Norman, and later covered by the Wall Street Journal. Frel was accused of inflating appraisals of donated artworks in order to boost the tax deductions for the donors. There was also controversy regarding Frel's acquisition of a Greek Kouros of questioned authenticity.
From the description of Records, 1972-1984. (Getty Research Institute). WorldCat record id: 85176013
