Harold M. Williams, Founding President Of The J. Paul Getty Trust Has Died

LOS ANGELES, CA — Harold M. Williams, the founding president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, died Monday at the age of 89.

Williams served as president and CEO of the Getty from 1981 to 1998, but continued to maintain an office at the Getty Center after his retirement while also attending meetings and events.

"The Getty today -- its global reach and its Southern California presence -- is a legacy of Harold M. Williams. He shall be remembered for his enormous contributions to the arts and humanities," said Maria Hummer-Tuttle, chair of the board of trustees of the J. Paul Getty Trust.

The trust was established in 1953 by oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, who was estimated at one point to be the world's richest private citizen. Getty died in 1976 and most of his estate passed to the trust in 1982.

Monday the trust is considered the world's largest cultural and philanthropic organization dedicated to the visual arts and oversees the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Research Institute, the Getty Conservation Institute and the Getty Foundation.

Upon the announcement in 1996 of his pending retirement, the Los Angeles Times said Williams "has played a central role in transforming a sleepy museum in Malibu, founded by an eccentric oil baron, into a multifaceted, international institution dedicated to scholarship, conservation and education in the visual arts and humanities. At the same time, he has been instrumental in parlaying the $1.2-billion endowment the trust received in 1982 into a fortune now estimated at nearly $4 billion."

The Getty did not release Williams' cause of death, but said a memorial service is planned for the fall.

"Harold envisioned and then built the Getty Center as a museum, library, laboratories and public spaces for the greater appreciation, understanding and conservation of the world's artistic legacy. We are all deeply in his debt," said James Cuno, a member of the Getty's board of trustees.

City News Service; Photo courtesy of The Getty