Reopening of the Getty Villa Museum

It is official, the Getty Villa Museum in Malibu, California, will reopen to the public on Friday, 27 June 2025. 

We still vividly recall the Palisades Fire that broke out on 7 January 2025 (see: Fire threatening the Getty Villa in Malibu), forcing the Villa to close. Trees and vegetation on the property have burned, but the Villa and its precious collection remained safe and intact (see: An update from Getty during the Los Angeles fires). 

Over the past months, an extensive cleanup took place, in and outside the Museum. The operation included flushing the water system, replacing all air and water filters, and removing more than 1,300 trees damaged by the fire. Every effort has been made to receive the public in a safe environment. 

As a first step, the Getty Villa will be open on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday from 10 am to 5 pm for 500 visitors daily. Reservations are required for free entry, while the parking fee will remain $25. To book online, click here. At present, the Villa is not accessible via Sunset Blvd., and visitors should enter via the Pacific Coast Highway. 

As of June 27, the Getty Villa kicks off with a brand-new exhibition, The Kingdom of Pylos: Warrior-Princes of Ancient Greece, which will run until 12 January 2026. Visitors will be treated to 230 works of art from Messenia (modern Messene), the heart of Mycenaean civilization in the Late Bronze Age in Greece. 

This fall, Getty’s Classical Theater will return with the production of Oedipus the King.

An update from Getty during the Los Angeles fires

The Getty President & CEO Katherine E. Fleming just shared an update on the fires in their Newsletter. Given the particular circumstances, I copied its content hereafter.

Dear Friends,

On behalf of everyone at Getty, I extend our heartfelt sympathy to all who are affected by the unprecedented fires that continue to rage around us. A tragedy is unfolding, one with enormous impact on the beloved city we share.

 

We are especially mindful of those many friends and neighbors whose lives have been upended by evacuations or the loss of their homes, schools, and workplaces.

 

Thank you for the outpouring of concern and support for the Getty Villa Museum in Pacific Palisades. I am pleased to report that the Villa remains safe and intact. While trees and vegetation on the property have burned, Getty structures have been unaffected, and the staff and collections are safe.

 

We are deeply grateful for the tireless work and dedication of the Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles County Fire Department, and other agencies, as well as key Getty staff who have remained on-site at the Villa supporting emergency response efforts. Below is a news link for those wishing more information:

 

LA Times - Getty Villa safe

 

In order to alleviate traffic and aid with recovery efforts, the Getty Center will be closed to the public at least through next Monday, January 20. The Getty Villa will remain closed to the public until further notice.

 

You'll find the next issue of Get Inspired in your mailbox on Thursday, January 23.

 

We will continue to monitor fire conditions and work with local agencies to ensure the safety of our people and collections.

 

The safety and well-being of our community is our greatest concern. Please know that Getty is committed to being a creative and effective resource as the wider Los Angeles community recovers.

 

We’ll send further updates as conditions and plans evolve. In the meantime, we hope you and yours are well. I look forward to a time when we can all celebrate art and beauty together again.

 

Sincerely,

 

Katherine E. Fleming

President & CEO

An article about Fighting Fire at the Getty Villa Museum has been published by Getty on 31 January 2025.

Fire threatening the Getty Villa in Malibu

Doomsday pictures fill the screens of our computers, televisions, and portable phones. Fierce fires fueled by stormy Santa Ana winds rage over the Los Angeles area in Southern California. Names of famous areas such as Pacific Palisades, Sunset Boulevard, Pasadena, and Malibu appear intermittently. Familiar beaches along the Pacific Coast Highway are almost unrecognizable. 

[Outer Peristyle of the Villa dei Papiri in Malibu]

Many homes and businesses are in ruins and I wondered what was happening to the Getty Villa in Malibu with its priceless art collection from Etruscan, Greek, and Roman antiquity – more than 40,000 artifacts (see: The renovated Getty Villa in Malibu). 

Although the fire came very close to the Getty Villa burning some trees and vegetation, the museum housed inside the reconstructed Villa dei Papiri from Herculaneum is still safe (see: The Getty Villa, an invitation to Roman life). 

The golden rule for homeowners in southern California is to regularly clear the brush around their property. It appears that Getty had made great efforts to clear the immediate perimeter. They had also implemented additional prevention measures such as on-site water storage and in-house irrigation systems. 

Luckily, the art galleries and the library archives could be efficiently sealed off from the smoke and safely relied on a double-walled construction. 

Let us hope all the means deployed by Getty will suffice to protect the invaluable treasures held within their walls.