Concert Of Wills: Making The Getty Center

A priceless peek into the rarefied worlds of architecture and museum politics. Industrialist J. Paul Getty's nearly $700 million bequest to the L.A. museum that bore his name inspired dreams of a vast museum complex: galleries, a library, research and conservation facilities, all in a setting that would seduce apathetic Angelinos into a museum visit. It would be among the largest architectural commissions ever granted to a single architect, modernist Richard Meier, famous for his sharp minimalism and pristine white exteriors. But while the Getty Trust was delighted to have the name of a world-class architect attached to what trustees hoped would become a world-clas...