The Getty and Philadelphia Museum of Art will virtually explore the collection of Louse and Walter Arensberg. (photo courtesy of the Getty)

The Getty Research Institute and the Philadelphia Museum of Art will hold a two-part virtual event exploring one of the most important private collections in the United States of avant-garde and pre-Columbian art.

During the first half of the 20th century, Louise and Walter Arensberg carved out a unique place in the history of collecting. From modern painting to Renaissance literature and pre-Columbian sculpture, the Arensbergs have created a collection  that speaks to artistic creation and intellectual exploration.

In this two-part event, Mark Nelson, William Sherman, and Ellen Hoobler, authors of the recently published book “Hollywood Arensberg: Avant-Garde Collecting in Midcentury L.A.” (Getty Research Institute), discuss and illuminate the Arensbergs’ fascinating collection.

Much has been made of the significance of how the Arensbergs’ collection took shape in their Manhattan apartment following the Armory Show in 1913 and of their influential role as patrons in the New York Dada circle. Until now, less has been understood about how their collection expanded and changed in character after their move to Los Angeles in 1921, particularly after they purchased their Hollywood home and turned it into a house museum and research institute.

Prior to the establishment of a public modern art museum in the region, the Arensbergs put the European avant-garde, the English Renaissance and Mesoamerican civilizations into dialogue in dense and playful displays that shocked and inspired visitors – including some of the period’s leading artists, writers and curators. In 1950, the couple gifted their collection of avant-garde and Pre-Columbian art to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. When Louise and Walter died in 1953 and 1954, respectively, their rare books,  manuscripts  and personal papers were gifted to California’s Francis Bacon Library (now housed at the Huntington Library).

“Part I: The Arensbergs’ Hollywood House-Museum” will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 15, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Matthew Affron, the Philip and Muriel Berman Curator of Modern Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, will moderate the discussion with the authors as they share how they mined archival materials, including at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, to uncover the unpublished history of the Arensberg collection on the West coast, and ultimately reconstruct how the works of art were displayed in their Hollywood home.

Drawing from this new research, the discussion will also examine how this display reflected the collecting tastes and worldview of the Arensbergs.

Visit Philadelphia Museum of Arts’ site to register in advance for this free online event: philamuseum.org/calendar/event/arensbergs-hollywood-house-museum.

“Part II: The Arensberg’s Collection: Space, Place, Time” will take place on Tuesday, March 9, 2021, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. In the second of two conversations, Mary Miller, director of the Getty Research Institute, and authors Mark Nelson, William H. Sherman and Ellen Hoobler will explore how the collection was shaped, assembled, displayed and interpreted.

Register in advance at getty.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gTiIjKdlS2qoVPl6jV6cQQ.