Getty and LACMA acquire Mapplethorpe Collection

"The acquisition marks the first time the two institutions have collected works of art to share; they formed a partnership to compete more effectively against other major museums being considered as homes for the collection by the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. The foundation is donating the majority of the more than 2,000 photographs – including Mapplethorpe silver-gelatin prints and Polaroid works – and the Getty and the Los Angeles County museum, with help from the David Geffen Foundation, are buying the rest. The foundation estimated the value of the entire collection – which includes 120,000 negatives – at more than $30 million."

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