A Museum for the New Century: The J. Paul Getty Museum and Its Collections

The Getty is both superb, small collection --- and a sybaritic and monumental complex of architecture/urban planning/sculpture set in a breathtaking natural site. This book, with exceptionally accurate and well-chosen photographs of the complex, and concise summaries of the major works of art, simply stated --- succeeds on all fronts. For sophisticated museum goers, this volume is the creme de la creme: an ample but not too cumbersome overview of the Getty, and (if you've been there), a wonderful momento. Those who seek what this book does not purport to be should steer themselves elsewhere.