Today is Father’s Day. I’m sure my niece, Drew Benton, misses her father, Garth Benton, who did the murals for the Getty Villa that is celebrating 50th. birthday. Two days ago I discovered John Moffitt helped my brother-in-law with the Getty murals, and many murals they did for Movie Stars.
John Presco
50 Years of the Getty Villa Museum
As it evolved from a private estate to a vibrant hub for antiquity, the Getty Villa Museum became a beloved Los Angeles institution
Topics
By Erin MigdolJan 30, 2024
50 Years of the Getty Villa Museum
Body Content
To the Los Angeles Times art critic, it was “an incredibly eccentric extravaganza.”
To visitors interviewed by a New York Times reporter, it was “gorgeous, just marvelous” and “an intellectual Disneyland.” But to founder J. Paul Getty, the Getty Villa was simply “what I felt a good museum should be, and it will have the character of a building that I would like to visit myself.”
Since opening to the public in 1974, the Villa has inspired passion—from visitors, who drive up Pacific Coast Highway to spend a day among its immersive architecture and artwork, and from staff, who enjoy its intimate, family-like atmosphere and commitment to bringing the ancient world alive. Where else in Los Angeles can you peruse treasures of the ancient world and gaze out at the shimmering ocean?
As the Villa celebrates its 50th anniversary, we journeyed back to its early days as a collector’s seaside retreat and traced some of the most memorable moments in its colorful history. Let’s raise a chalice to the next 50 years!
Here
23 April 2013
In Memoriam: Garth Benton
| Mural by Garth Benton in the Outer Peristyle at the Getty Villa, Malibu CA. via Flickr |
This week I was saddened to learn of the passing of a great muralist, Mr. Garth Benton, an internationally recognized artist who was well known for his stylish first-century style trompe l’oeil decoration of the magnificent Getty Villa in Malibu, California.
Mr. Benton “died a after with battle cancer” in May of 2012. I am surprised I did not see it reported anywhere and I only figured it out after I noticed that his website had gone down and began making inquiries. Being a pre-internet personality Mr. Benton was not widely mentioned on the web, but his work was nevertheless world-class, and very well-known in its day.
I had the pleasure of working on a project with Garth Benton many years ago when he came to San Francisco to paint some spectacular Chinoiserie murals in a private residence here. He had arrived in town with inexplicably blank wallpaper apparently intending to paint the murals on site, but with no help and nowhere near enough time. I got a desperate call from the wallpaper hanger (who knew I also paint in this style) and rather than ask what the heck had gone wrong, out of respect for this great master painter I put my nearly entire studio at Mr. Benton’s disposal – scaffolding, buckets, tarps, ladders, brushes, and as many assistants as I could round up – and we all learned a lot from him while helping him complete his commission, some of the crew often working until 3 AM or even all night, trying to meet the deadline. While we painted, we were regaled with entertaining stories about his many celebrity clients and amazing jobs he’d done over the years. It was exhausting and exciting and the job was truly beautiful.
A couple of years later Mr. Benton made headlines for suing his clients, Ann and Gordon Getty, for having painted over one of his older murals in their San Francisco home, which he had hoped to photograph for a glossy catalogue raisonné of his work. The mural had been painted on canvas and could easily have been removed, but the Gettys had not realized this when they redecorated, and had to settle a large amount of money on him for the error. While I felt deeply over the heartbreaking loss of the artwork, the case made me cringe: suing an otherwise supportive client likely didn’t help his future business. The mural is still gone and the book was never published.
We exchanged a few emails over the years, but regrettably never did get to meet again.
So I offer this short tribute to Mr. Garth Benton, to be remembered for his fine work, and his influence on a generation of muralists.
Artist Focus: John C. Moffitt
John C. Moffitt is a self-taught artist from Southern California who has been creating artwork professionally for more than four decades as a muralist, illustrator and scenic artist.
Up Against The Wall Mr. Howard, oil on linen canvas, 13 x 25″
Prior to working with noted muralist Garth Benton to execute the murals for the Getty Villa Museum in Malibu, and the pair’s decade-long collaboration creating murals for the homes of many celebrities and notable figures, Moffitt’s early trompe l’oeil and surrealistic oil paintings were winning awards and being added to personal collections.
His fine art aspirations frequently shelved, his interest in large-scale painting eventually led him to the entertainment industry where he worked to create backdrops, murals, fine artwork and portraiture for hundreds of motion picture and television productions. In 2018 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Art Directors Guild for his work.
Top of the Heap, oil on canvas, 54 x 70″
Moffitt retired in 2014 to once again devote himself to creating tromp l’oeil and magical realism images. Whether tackling the assassination of a notorious Western icon by depicting actual historical objects woven into an account of the event, or portraying symbolic imagery in reimagined arrangements, his attention to every detail has always captivated viewers.
Texas Triangle, oil on linen canvas, 26 x 20″
The artist notes, “I believe history will favor those artists whose work embodies not only painting technique and subject matter, but also demonstrates the essence of art since man began painting representations on cave walls—artwork that tells stories that inspire wonder with symbolic and metaphorical meaning pertinent to the human condition.” —
Drew Benton and Garthland
Posted on December 2, 2021 by Royal Rosamond Press
Bonds With Angels
by
John Presco
Copyright 2021
Last night I had a dream about Christine and her friend, Carmen, who had a crush on me. They were around fourteen. They were dancing and having fun. Carmen and I used to dance at San Sebastian. Suddenly, Christine is speaking to me. She loves my genealogical study.
“Don’t deprive your niece of her birthright!”
During a divorce, and a fought over a legacy, adults – and children – are bid to take a side. When I first met Drew Benton, she came over to play video games with her cousin after the funeral. She was eight. Ten years later we met on Everquest, a game Vicki and her loved to play for hours. I came in as
WOLFEROSE
Drew is kin to the Stewart family – two ways! These magical royals made much of the history of the British Isles. They came to America with the MacDowell and Preston family. I am considering a video game called…
GARTHLAND
Drew is an accomplished artist, and has drawn characters for video games. I see a collaboration.
McDowell and Dew | Rosamond Press
Drew Benton and the Rose Mouth Grail
Posted on May 17, 2012 by Royal Rosamond Press
Two months ago I met Vicki and Drew in a fanciful land on Everquest. I looked like a grey-haried Danish King whom I name Wolferose. This name is derived from my study of the name Hrothmund a character in Beowulf.
“Rosamund, Rosamond, Rosamunde, Rosemonde is of Teutonic origin,
having been formed from the Old male name Rhosmund, softened down
from Ruodmunt same as the Old and Middle high German name Hrothmond
(Icelandic Hrothmundr) old Gothis, Ratmund. Junius’ translation
Ruodmunt. “red mouth”. The name if from Ruod-munt for Rad-Mund “man
for counsel” councilor of Radmun, “protector in council”
Tolkein’s Ring Trilogy was inspired by the Icelandic Tales authored by, and about, my kindred.
Above is the artwork of my my niece who became an orphan in the world when her father, Garth Benton, died two weeks ago. Vicki has taken Rosamond’s daughter under her wing. She is a Foundling in Art Mundi. I am the Protector of the Grail Council known as the Rose of the World. The Sleeping Beauty – is awake!
Jan Hrothmund
Beowulf, Rosamond (Hrothmond) and the Rose Mouth Grail Message List
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Beowulf, Rosamond (Hrothmond) and the Rose Mouth Grail
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808728058/video/4798298
(Images: Cup-beaer, Wealhbeow, serving mead. Coat of arms. Beowulf
fighting dragon. Wolfhouse. Brendal’s mother.)
A movie version of the legend of Beowulf is due to be released in a
week or two. Today I found the definitive proof the name Rosamond
comes from the Hrothmond/Hrothmund, and is the source of the Hromund
who is the hero of the Icelandic saga,’Hromundr Gripsson’ that
inspired Tolkein. Some scholars suggest this saga is the source of
some aspects of the Arthurian legend, as well as a source of the
Lohengrin legend.
Hrothmund is the son of Wealhþeow who preformed the ceremony of the
mead cup, she the cup-bearer for the Danish kings. No one has been
able to define the meaning of her name, but it looks like it ends
with “beow” and might stand for mead made of honeycones. It is
suggested she is a servant or “slave”, but I see Maiden Server of
Mead. Perhaps she is a mead goddess.
Hrothgar wishes to adopt Beowulf, but Wealhbeow bids the king to not
forget Hrothulf, which looks like Hrotwulf “famous wolf”
or “redwolf”. Hrothgar has two sons, Hrethric and Hrothmund, the
latter being the source of the name Rosamond. Did Beowulf become
Hrothmund’s half-brother?
Hrothmund is said to mean “rose mouth”. This is meaning of the name
Rosenmund of which we see a coat of arms with two roses and a cross.
There is a Rosenmund Cup that is the centerpiece for the Gerberzunft
Guild in Basel. Did this cup ever SERVE mead to distinguished guests,
if only in a traditonal sence?
Beowulf was written by a farmer named Rolf. Is it possible he is my
ancestor and lived in Wolfhouse where the Roesmonts dwelt?
http://www.gerbernzunft.ch/index.php?id=81
My family name, Rosamond, will forever be associated with the Beowulf
legend that depicts a usurption by Hroðulf, i.e. Hrólfr Kraki.
Here is the source of the name Rosamund found in “The Etymology of
the Principal Christian Names of Great …
By Richard Stephen Charnock
Rosamund, Rosamond, Rosamunde, Rosemonde is of Teutonic origin,
having been formed from the Old male name Rhosmund, softened down
from Ruodmunt same as the Old and Middle high German name Hrothmond
(Icelandic Hrothmundr) old Gothis, Ratmund. Junius’ translation
Ruodmunt. “red mouth”. The name if from Ruod-munt for Rad-Mund “man
for counsel” councilor of Radmun, “protector in council””
Jon Presco
Copyright 2007
Art Is The Truth Lily Rose
Posted on July 9, 2021 by Royal Rosamond Press
Beauty and The Truth
by
John Presco
Copyright 2021
Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose – Wikipedia
The photographs are of my mother Rosemary and her sisters, including Lilian. I suspect a stranger took these images by the reaction. I am considering doing painting of the Rosamond sisters, the daughters of Mary Magdalene Rosamond.
The Grandfathers Come Home to the Shire For Thanksgiving
Posted on May 17, 2012 by Royal Rosamond Press
“Every fine day Rosamunda walked the hills, seldom seeing another living creature other than sheep, or, very rarely, a doe or faun. She did not walk south to Hobbiton, however, except on errands or for an appointed visit. She had not forgotten her “understanding” with Bilbo. And Bilbo did not forget her, either.
Regularly, he sent her gifts of wine or ham or fruit in season, as tokens of his neighbourly regard. She appreciated the way he could show marks of particular notice, without making her feel the burden of obligation.”
When Patrice talked about having a daughter by me when I come to see my sixteen year old daughter, is reminiscent of the Biblical mothers who took the Vow of the Nazarite in order to conceive for they were old in years. How old was Patrice Hanson – fifty five?
What is clear she wants into my family as my aged bride – who took my daughter and put her in the arms of a imposter. In a letter to Oprah Winfrey, she says she knew it was my child the moment Heather was born, and kept the truth from Randall Delpiano lest he kill Heather.
This has all the earmarks of a Fairy Tale, and the Grail Legends. Morgana comes to mind and her son Mordred, who is destined to kill his father, King Arthur. The Grail Kingdom goes into decline because of the dark machinations of Morgana – the usurper of God’s Light and the Holy Bloodline.
I knew Bill Cornwell hated me when we were on our way to the Grand Canyon. We had stopped at a cave where I bought Tyler Hunt an arrowhead. Sitting in the back seat together, I told my grandson about the Native Americans who made this arrowhead, and there were many more lying outside on the ground. I made pictures for him of the hunt, the campsites, how they struck the obsidian with a rock to shape it. I talked about how they tied the arrow to a wooden shaft.
I took my grandson on an inner journey, back in time. Tyler loved these journeys we took together since he was born. This is a curious child, not a do macho stuff look at me kind of child, like Bill, who was seething because Tyler was not focused on the Speed Demon show-off bully boy! We were ruining his trip to the Grand Canyon.
What I had shown my offspring, was how to pull a weapon from a rock. Consider Excalibur and the fact obsidian was once molten lava from Fire Mountain. When we got out of the car Tyler rushed to the first bare ground to look for an arrowhead and a stick so I could show him how it was tied to it.
“Get out of there. You’re not supposed to be in there!” spoke the selfish giant.
Bill in a huff, marched to the rim of the Canyon, walking as fast as he could. He had seen me tire in the cave, and, he wanted to arrive at the rim without me, because he wanted a big stuff Hallmark moment, with just him and his new family.
“Hey everyone. Look at me! Aren’t I grand?”
Sixty feet ahead, Tyler turned, made eye contact with me, and said;
“Wait for Papa!”
Bill walked that much faster. So did my daughter, my Mordred, who was furious i would not allow her to be in Tom Snyder’s biography of Rosamond, that did not sell, and ranks as one of the worst biographies ever written.
I authored the following several years ago, for my daughter and grandson. Heather has no clue that magical people author magical stories that are often inspired by their magical family.
I see Royal Rosamond in my grandson.
Jon Presco
Copyright 2012
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock. It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimum crystal growth. Obsidian is commonly found within the margins of rhyolitic lava flows known as obsidian flows, where the chemical composition (high silica content) induces a high viscosity and polymerization degree of the lava
The Grandfathers Come Home to the Shire For Thanksgiving Message List
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The Grandfathers Come Home to the Shire For Thanksgiving
(Images: Gandalf comes home to the Shire. The town of Rougemont
Switzerland, the home of my ancestors. The Ozarks. The Shire of the
Hobbits. The Mill in Eminence.)
http://www.scotshistoryonline.co.uk/rednecks/rednecks.html
“So for me, Hobbits, as best I can relate to them in the real world,
are Appalachian southerners. I think the southerners that I knew had
much in common with the people of Tolkien’s English countryside. I
don’t know whether you can still find such folk in England, but I
believe there are, at least a few, such folk to be found upon the
ridges, and in the hollows of Appalachia.”
Karlton Douglas
Two days ago I awoke and wondered how best to tell my readers how
the Rougemonts became the Orangemen and Ulstermen, and how their
Dream that was forced flee the ancient lands of their ancestors,
came to dwell in America. Then it struck me, the very ground that
lay at my feet rose up and gave me a good bump, for we go to where
we have been, and back again, and it was time to bring the
Grandfather’s home. And we go there with the words Tolkien’s
Rosamunda, and we return with the words of my grandfather, Royal
Rosamond, for they are very much the same.
I jumped out of bed and rushed to my computer. Had any other writer
taken note of how similar the Hillbillies are to the Hobbits? In no
time I found the observations of the author, Karlton Douglas. I then
went to my book shelf and pulled out ‘Ravola of Thunder Mountain’
published in 1947 the years my late sister was born. Inside the
cover is this dedication;
“To BERTHA MAY ROSAMOND (now Mrs. Bigalow), my second daughter, who
has steadfastly clung to the belief that her Father would leave
Literary Footprints on the SANDS OF TIME.
Royal Rosamond”
Here is a chapter from my Grandfather’s story, whom I never met. I
will soon be leaving to see my Grandson, Tyler, Royal’s Great
Grandson. I will be bringing The Grandfather’s with me so they may
adore Heather’s beautiful son through my eyes.
http://rougeknights.blogspot.com
“Poetry on Leaves
The spring sun was warm now, brightening as with happiness in the
open fields, the broad land resembling a crazy quilt because of the
wooded patches everywhere. Already the wild grapes were in bloom,
and if the sun continued smiling there would be, in every Hillman’s
cellar, many, many jars of grape juice for making jelly, and wine
for those who knew the trick of making it. Those pink-white blossoms
on the pale yellow bushes hard against warm hillside rocks were
huckleberries in bloom. The wild grapes and the huckleberries once
ripe, tangier here in Shannon County, Missouri, than most any other
place in the Ozarks.
I walked on, for I had yet a long way to go before nightfall. Now it
was but a mite after mid-day. After leaving the train at Winona, I
could have perhaps caught a ride to Eminence had I stayed with the
wagon road instead of footing it up the spur-track leading northward
to cross Jack’s Fork at the Hodge place where I left to journey up
Possum Trot toward Little Wonder Schoolhouse and Tucked Away Church
House, above which in the ride to the north, I lived – the place
where I was born and which I called home, where my parents had
settled in their youth and planned some day to die. The way was
long, the trail lonesome and ofttimes steep. As wild a region as
ever grew outdoors. No matter. I wanted to stretch my legs and let
the April breeze take the orders of a Saint Louis foundry away from
me.
I went home on a visit once a year – had already worked five years
up there, long enough to forget how to talk (or write) hillbilly
talk, it seemed like. Still, I didn’t mind being called a hillbilly.
Life in the Ozarks had a tang. I liked everything about them, from
the blooming of the redbud and dogwood in springtime to pumpkin pies
and possum and coon hunting and listening to fox hounds in the fall.
I was born and bred here. This wilderness was in my blood. I felt as
much a part of it as does a back log to a fireplace. I was twenty
six years old now, and when I become fifty, I intend to retire, and
go sit on pappy’s rocker there on the front porch and rock and smoke
and think until I die.
Here on the side of Grapevine Mountain, high above the glistening of
Jack’s Fork below, for days and weeks and years back into the dim
past she had lived in splendid isolation, the silence, save for the
passing Hillman on the road below her cabin, as vast as the greenery
of the heaving land-billows rising higher and ever higher toward the
summit of the far ridge leaning against the blue heaven on the west,
below which was the great spring from which the stream Jack’s Fork
nursed and found perpetual substance. A skinny, faded creature in
her late forties, seemingly as antiquated as the furniture in the
two small rooms in her rustic cabin, yet she possessed the amazing
gift of cheerfulness. Even though her income was very meager, yet
she contrived to spread a spirit of near-opulence and comforting
friendliness about herself which was as convincing as was Mr.
Russell’s plush appearing abundance. In summer she mothered her
pansy beds, naming the little faces, as she called them, after the
little girls she taught in winter, the boys unslighted by living as
vegetables in her garden, the more refractory being a gooseberry
busy or wild plum tree.”
“From first sight, even the site of the new cottage had enchanted
her, dug as it was into the southeast side of a grassy hill in the
midst of Boffin lands, populated with Boffin sheep. There was a
little copse below it, just to the side, and a spring-fed well, all
of which reminded her of her childhood home. The place had come down
to Odovacar through his mother’s side, a Boffin. He had used it as
asort of base, when he and his friends had gone out hunting.
Theywould stock the little hole with gear and rations. Then, with
their bows, and a pony for their gear, they would make forays west
ornorth, towards the Downs or up to the Moors, or, closer still,
intoBindbale Wood. But that was years ago, when the game had not
yetmoved so far off. When Rosamunda had viewed it more carefully,
she saw the hole was inconsiderable disrepair. Also, it was a bit
too small. She had new rooms dug, so that there was a parlour and a
kitchen, a bedroom for each (and one to spare), along with extra
chambers further back fo rstore. When it was finished, it suited
Rosamunda very well. Especially, she loved the light. Situated
facing south-east, the light poured through the windows in the
mornings, her favourite time of the day. And, when she stood
outside, she could see the land stretching east and south far into
the distance. Illuminated by the late afternoonsun, the prospect was
especially fine. From the top of the little knoll that made the
cottage’s roof, she could see far to the northand west, where sheep
dotted the rolling hills. The sky at nighttook her breath away. And,
all day, the birds sang, the wind blew,and the Water, which ran
nearby, just to the west, mostly narrow andquick as it came down out
of Long Cleeve and Needlehole, could justbe heard when the wind
dropped and everything was still. She loved its peace and quiet, so
tucked away and so private. Yet,it was just an hour’s walk over the
hills to Bag End or to Hobbiton. Overhill, to the east, was even
closer. Every fine day Rosamunda walked the hills, seldom seeing
another living creature other than sheep, or, very rarely, a doe or
faun. She did not walk south to Hobbiton, however, except on errands
orfor an appointed visit. She had not forgotten
her “understanding”with Bilbo. And Bilbo did not forget her, either.
Regularly, he sent her gifts of wine or ham or fruit in season, as
tokens of his neighbourly regard. She appreciated the way he could
show marks ofparticular notice, without making her feel the burden
of obligation.”
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Garth Benton, Emmet Wemple, mural and landscaping estimates, November 29, 1971
Archival file
Location in the Collection
An ordered list displaying related items to this component starting with the collection at the top. It highlights where this component is located in the collection and lists what may come before or after it.
- Getty Villa construction records, 1960
- Series IV. Architect and consultant budgets, 1968-1976
- Garth Benton, Emmet Wemple, mural and landscaping estimates, November 29, 1971(This archival file)
- Series IV. Architect and consultant budgets, 1968-1976
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Request from the Library Catalog
Box 1986.IA.08-12 Folder 3
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Title:
Garth Benton, Emmet Wemple, mural and landscaping estimates, November 29, 1971
Creation Date:
November 29, 1971
Container:
Box 1986.IA.08-12 Folder 3
File Type:
Archival file
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Collection:
Getty Villa construction records
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into ten series:
Series I. Correspondence, 1968-1981;
Series II. Reports, 1968-1974;
Series III. Legal, 1968-1975;
Series IV. Architect and consultant budgets, 1968-1976;
Series V. Dinwiddie Construction Company records, 1970-1975;
Series VI. Blueline prints and architectural drawings, 1964, 1968, 1970-1977, undated;
Series VII. Models, 1972-1973, 1987, undated;
Series VIII. Photographs, 1969-1974, 1976, undated;
Series IX. Oral and written histories, 1972, 1980, 1986;
Series X. Printed matter and notes, 1960, undated.
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IA10001
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