The Getty Trust announced last week that it will give its J. Paul Getty Medal to Frank Gehry. This is the third time the Getty will hand out the award—established “to recognize living individuals from all over the world for their leadership in the fields in which the Getty works”—and the first time it will go to an architect.
Past winners include Lord Jacob Rothschild, Harold M. Williams, and Nancy Englander.
Gehry’s building achievements, which have “changed the course of architecture,” according to Getty CEO James Cuno, make him an obvious choice for the prize. But it’s his collaborations with contemporary artists that made him an exceptional fit, said Cuno. “He was a central figure in the contemporary art world in Los Angeles in the 1960s and 70s, working closely with Billy Al Bengston, Larry Bell, John Altoon, Bob Irwin, Ed Moses, Ed Ruscha, and Ken Price. And he continues to work closely with artists, including Claes Oldenburg and Jeff Koons, for whom he has collaborated on deeply sensitive installations of their work,” noted Cuno.
The award will be handed out at the Getty Center in September.