Marion True
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Marion True (b. 1948) is the former curator of antiquities of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California.
Born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, she studied at New York University and has a PhD from Harvard.[1][2]. True was trained by Cornelius Clarkson Vermeule III, contemporary scholar of ancient art and curator of classical art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston from 1957 to 1996.
In 2005 True was indicted by the Italian government, together with renowned American antiquities dealer Robert Hecht Jr., for conspiracy to traffic in illegal antiquities. The primary evidence in the case came from the 1995 raid of a Geneva, Switzerland warehouse which had contained a fortune in stolen artifacts. Italian art dealer Giacomo Medici was eventually arrested in 1997; his operation was thought to be "one of the largest and most sophisticated antiquities networks in the world, responsible for illegally digging up and spiriting away thousands of top-drawer pieces and passing them on to the most elite end of the international art market"[3]. Medici was sentenced in 2004 by a Rome court to ten years in prison and a fine of 10 million euros, "the largest penalty ever meted out for antiquities crime in Italy"[4]. The court hearings of the case against True and Hecht continue. In a letter to the J. Paul Getty Trust on December 18, 2006, True stated that that she is being made to "carry the burden" for practices which were known, approved, and condoned by the Getty's Board of Directors [5]. True is currently under investigation by Greek authorities over the acquisition of a 2,500 year old funerary wreath.
On November 20, 2006, the Director of the museum, Michael Brand, announced that 26 disputed pieces were to be returned to Italy.
[edit] References
- ^ Christopher Reynolds, "The puzzle of Marion True" Los Angeles Times, October 30, 2005
- ^ Suzanne Muchnic, "Getty curator Marion True, indicted over acquisitions, has often spoken on ethical issues" Los Angeles Times, May 27, 2005
- ^ Men's Vogue, Nov/Dec 2006, Vol. 2, No. 3, pg. 46.
- ^ Men's Vogue, Nov/Dec 2006, Vol. 2, No. 3, pg. 46.
- ^ LATimes.com ~ "Getty lets her take fall, ex-curator says"
