L.A. Museums' Collections Grow Despite Poor Economy

The J. Paul Getty Museum expanded its art holdings with 894 acquisitions, including a Roman sarcophagus, an Ethiopian manuscript, paintings by Paul Gauguin and Claude Lorrain, sculptures by Franz Xaver Messerschmidt and photographs by Irving Penn and Carleton Watkins. The Fowler enriched its textile collection with 666 items from Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America. The Hammer Museum added 169 pieces to its fledgling contemporary art collection; the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts gained 192 works, including donations of 50 contemporary photographs from the David C. and Sarajean Ruttenberg Foundation and about 40 drawings and photos from artist James Welling.