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Why climb this hill in Brentwood? Maybe to behold works of Van Gogh, Cezanne, Hockney and others at the world’s wealthiest art institution. Or maybe just to admire a cactus garden that seems to hover over the Pacific Ocean.
Even by Los Angeles standards, the Getty Center in Brentwood is a young landmark (completed in 1997). But this 110-acre museum campus of bright, spare buildings has a spectacular location and is backed by an $8.6-billion endowment.
The galleries include Van Gogh’s “Irises,” Cézanne’s “Still Life With Apples” and David Hockney’s “Pearblossom Highway” photocollage, along with thousands of other paintings and sculptures, a renowned photography collection, a boldly modern garden and a set of jaw-dropping views toward the Pacific. One temporary exhibition through Sept. 17 looks at pastel portraits from 18th century Europe.
Admission is free but you must reserve a timed-entry spot and parking is $20. (It’s closed on Monday.) Take the tram up the hill and head for the West Pavilion, which houses photography and Impressionists. Check out the cactus garden (between the east and west pavilions) along with the larger, lower Central Garden designed by artist
Robert Irwin. Also, spare a few minutes to read up on the notoriously tight-fisted oilman who endowed this place even though he left California in 1951 and never returned.
BONUS TIP: If antiquities are more your style, spend a day at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, which specializes in ancient Greek, Roman and Etruscan art and is closed Tuesdays.