Legacy of an American emperor: the Getty Centre

John Paul Getty was not an emperor: he did not lead an army or rule an empire. But he did acquire imperial-style wealth and, along with it, the spoils that emperors covet - expensive artifacts. He then housed many of them in palaces as spendidly built as those of empires past. The Getty Centre, housing the J. Paul Getty Museum and Research Institute, its landscaped grounds and associated buildings in Los Angeles's Santa Monica Valley, is famed for the design of its building that many regard as surpassing its contents. That's a subjective judgement, but it is hard to avoid the conclusion that, in common with great palaces, the Getty is built to impress, and in so doing transmit messages about power, wealth and prestige.