J. Paul Getty Museum acquires trove of Irving Penn photographs

A series of photographs created by Irving Penn while travelling in Cuzco, Peru, has been acquired by the J. Paul Getty Museum, boosting its already strong holdings of the celebrated photographer. “When coupled with Penn’s Small Trades series, a set of 252 gelatin-silver and platinum-palladium prints acquired in 2008 and exhibited in 2009, the Cuzco series makes the Getty a key resource for the study and display of Penn’s work, while also building upon the Museum’s efforts to expand the representation of communities in our collection,” says the museum’s director, Timothy Potts. The collection of 189 prints was donated by the Irving Penn Foundation, along with a maquette for a book titled Christmas in Cuzco.