Getty Center to devote more space to photography

In an effort to put its rapidly growing photography collection under a bigger, brighter spotlight, the Getty Center in Brentwood will expand its photography exhibition space from 1,700 square feet to 7,000 square feet.

The new galleries -- in the West Pavilion, directly below the existing photography galleries -- will be created from space that had been devoted to antiquities while the Getty Villa in Malibu was being remodeled.

Getty Center architect Richard Meier has redesigned the entrance to the new photography area with an outdoor courtyard to display modern sculptures recently acquired from the estate of Ray and Fran Stark. The reconfigured galleries will open in October with “Where We Live: Photographs of America From the Berman Collection,” featuring about 160 gifts to the museum from Los Angeles collectors Bruce and Nancy Berman.

Signaling its intention to collect more contemporary photography, the museum also will expand its storage space. The new facility, adjacent to the existing photography study and storage area, will accommodate large color prints under low-temperature, low-humidity conditions designed to preserve fugitive pigments.

-- Suzanne Muchnic