Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
The Getty Museum shattered a record when it won its bid on an Édouard Manet painting Wednesday night at Christie's auction house in New York. The museum will pay a whopping $65 million for Manet's "Spring (Le Printemps)," a record for the French artist's work.
The Getty's Director, Timothy Potts, said that "Spring" will be one of the institutions top five paintings in its collection. The painting has been in the private hands of one family since 1909, and it was a surprise to the Getty when the family decided to sell it. But what's the pay-off in acquiring a piece like this?
Potts told Take Two, not only is there a cumulative effect in acquiring such artwork in regards to the Museum's international prestige, but the art community expects the Getty Museum to jump at the chance to buy a painting like this when the opportunity arises.