Going to museums tend to be overwhelming at times.  Zig-zagging through doorways from one room to the next you often find yourself asking, “wait…have I been in here yet?” or find yourself guessing which doorway to walk in next because you don’t want to miss “that painting” you really were looking forward to see, but simply can’t seem to find it anywhere! Well what’s better than the director of a museum taking time to write a guide for visitors?  Dr. Timothy Potts, director of the Getty Museum in LA shares with visitors how they should structure their time while at the Getty.

In his short guide to getting through the Getty without missing the key elements he explains, what visitors ensure they see, such as masterpiece’s from Titian, Canaletto, Renoir, Monet and van Gogh, when the best time is to visit the museum, if you are on a time limit- what to skip and what the museums favorite works are, like the Hellenistic marble, Head of Bearded Man from 150 BC, Dieric Bouts, Annunciation from 1450, and Rembrandt Laughing from 1628.

Potts also shares what artworks have the most interesting history, like Hans Hoffmann’s painting, A Hare in the Forest.  Commissioned in 1585 for the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, the work was later stolen by Queen Cristina of Sweden, then rediscovered in the 1980s in a small Yorkshire house (being used as a fire screen!) and finally acquired in 2001 by the Getty. Also Potts shares what work is most controversial in the museum, unique traits of the Getty and its architecture and finally what else to visit while in LA.

The Getty, Los Angeles: the director’s guide (The Telegraph)