The Getty issued a press release after today’s sale of a $1.398m drawing at Sotheby’s:
The J. Paul Getty Museum today announced the acquisition at auction of Portrait of a Young Man, Head and Shoulders, Wearing a Cap, drawn about 1470, attributed to Piero del Pollaiuolo (c. 1443-1496). The drawing, from the early Florence Renaissance, is extremely rare, and is the first portrait drawing of this period to be included in the Getty’s permanent collection. Its acquisition by the Getty will allow it to be put on public display for likely the first time in its long history.
“This acquisition anchors and provides context for the Museum’s Italian Renaissance drawings collection, one of the strongest of any U.S. museum,” explains Lee Hendrix, senior curator of drawings at the Getty Museum. “This is the first major drawing from this pivotal early Renaissance period to come on the market for many years, which, paired with its extraordinary condition, makes this a very significant acquisition.”
