Thomas Gaehtgens Appointed Head of Getty Research Institute

August 15, 2007 — Appointment — Los Angeles, Getty Research Institute — The most Francophile of the German art historians, Thomas Gaehtgens, founder and currently director of the German Center for Art History in Paris, has just been appointed as director of the Getty Research Institute. A graduate of the universities of Bonn, Fribourg, Vienna, Göttingen and Paris, Thomas Gaehtgens has written many books and articles on French and German art of the XVIIIth and XIXth CC. He will assume his new position in November 2007 replacing Thomas Crow who is leaving to teach at New York University.

Created in 1997, the German Center for Art History quickly became a standard of reference by publishing a large number of works devoted to France, Germany and the relations between the two countries. Its continued presence has recently been ensured after having been incorporated into the foundation of the German Institutes for the Humanities abroad, thus transforming it into a public institution. Thomas Gaehtgens’ retirement, which now promises to be a particularly active one at the age of 67, had been announced earlier, to the regret of his colleagues. The name of his successor is not yet known.