Palisadians Anissa and Paul John Balson Donate $5 Million to Getty Villa

By MAGNOLIA LAFLEUR | Reporter

Palisadian philanthropists Anissa and Paul John Balson have gifted the Getty Villa with a donation that establishes the Balson Family Endowed Fund—a $5 million fund that will support exhibitions and programs.

“This will give new impetus and focus to our ambition of providing visitors, both at the Villa and through digital platforms around the world, with a richer appreciation of the importance and legacy of the diverse cultures of antiquity,” shared Timothy Potts, Maria Hummer-Tuttle and Robert Tuttle director of the J. Paul Getty Museum, in a statement.

The largest fund to be established at the Villa to date will allow continuous study and display of art of the ancient world. The Balson Family Endowed Fund will showcase a variety of exhibitions and programs in hopes of ushering in new voices and perspectives.

“We’ve been impressed Getty has placed a new emphasis on the diverse cultures of the ancient world that impacted and inspired the Greeks and Romans, including the Egyptians, Persians, Nubians and Assyrians,” Paul said.

The announcement of the fund came on November 10, the last day of the featured exhibition “Rubens: Picturing Antiquity,” an in-depth presentation of the art and literature of Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens.

The newly named Anissa and Paul John Balson II Senior Curator of Antiquities Jeffrey Spier stated: “I am extremely honored and humbled to have this distinction. We have greatly valued the thoughtful support of the Balsons and enjoyed working with them on the Villa Council to advance this important work.”

The Balsons, who have lived in the Palisades since the 1990s, have worked extensively in the art world, with Anissa serving as a trustee of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and director of the Hearst Corporation, and Paul being a former director of the Los Angeles Library Foundation and director of the California Oncology Research Institute.

They shared that they moved to the area to raise their family, adding they “love the Palisades” and live near the Villa.

Anissa, an artist and designer as well as the great-granddaughter of publisher William Randolph Hearst, said she wants to support the curators, conservators, exhibitions and programs at the Villa.

“We also want to affirm the global mission of Getty, which funds conservation and scholarly programs around the world and provides grants to many arts organizations and museums,” she added.

The couple both serve on the J. Paul Getty Villa Council, which oversees the museum in the Castellammare neighborhood of the Palisades. The Villa showcases collections of ancient art, private and public exhibitions, family and educational programs that include lectures, conferences, conservation, family workshops, and classical live theater performances for the public to enjoy.

“This generous gift from Anissa and Paul will be truly transformative to the Villa as we deepen our exploration of the classical world and its connections with other ancient cultures of the Mediterranean and Near East,” Potts expressed in the statement. “The research, scholarship, exhibitions, and educational and public programs that it enables will greatly enrich the lives of future visitors for generations to come.”