Private operating foundation founded in 1953 by Jean Paul Getty to establish the J. Paul Getty Museum .
Originally located in Malibu, Cal., it now occupies five buildings in the Getty Center in Los Angeles, each building housing one of the institutes it established when it diversified its activities in 1983. One institute develops computerized databases on art-historical information; the others support art restoration and conservation, interdisciplinary research in art history and the related humanities, art education, and training in museum management. The Getty Grants Program supports projects around the world involving the history and understanding of art and its conservation.