California
Art Collectors and Their Collections
Program No. 1183RJ
Discover the beauty of Southern California’s best museums, enjoying lectures, docent-led walks and a close look at the life and collections of local art enthusiasts.
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6 days
5 nights
9 meals
5B 1L 3D
2
Los Angeles Collectors, Norton Simon Museum
Los Angeles
3
J. Paul Getty Museum Lecture & Visit
Los Angeles
5
Lecture, Museum of Contemporary Art, The Broad
Los Angeles
At a Glance
Be treated to several of Southern California’s finest art museums and leave the driving to us! The Los Angeles area’s distinguished collections are on display in several grand museums. Daily in-depth lectures prior to the visits provide an orientation to the museums that enriches your appreciation of their visionary collectors.
Activity Level
On Your Feet
Five museum field trips involve several blocks of walking at a time and standing up to one hour on docent tours. Must be able to easily get on/off bus.
Best of all, you’ll…
- Study the life of J. Paul Getty and examine his collections of Western art from the Middle Ages to the present against a backdrop of dramatic architecture, tranquil gardens and breathtaking views of the city.
- Experience the museum of Arabella and Henry Huntington, with 207 acres of gardens.
- Discover Norton Simon’s collection of art from Europe and Asia on a docent-led walk.
General Notes
Select dates are designated for small groups and are limited to 24 participants or less. If not specified as a small group date, departures will have up to 34 participants. For a comparable adventure for women travelers only led by a female group leader, check out "Art Collectors and Their Collections for Women" (#25121).
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Paul R. Spitzzeri
A California historian and author of numerous works on such topics as railroad development and regulation, overland emigration, and criminal justice, Paul R. Spitzzeri received his bachelor’s and master’s in history from California State University, Fullerton. He is Museum Director of the Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum near Los Angeles and an Award of Merit recipient from the American Association for State and Local History for his biography of the Workman and Temple families.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Paul R. Spitzzeri
View biography
A California historian and author of numerous works on such topics as railroad development and regulation, overland emigration, and criminal justice, Paul R. Spitzzeri received his bachelor’s and master’s in history from California State University, Fullerton. He is Museum Director of the Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum near Los Angeles and an Award of Merit recipient from the American Association for State and Local History for his biography of the Workman and Temple families.
Donna Granata
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Donna Granata is the founder and executive director of Focus on the Masters (FOTM), a highly respected nonprofit archive and educational program documenting contemporary artists. An accomplished artist in her own right, Granata is an internationally published portrait photographer. Her photographs have been displayed across the United States. Selected works from her FOTM portrait series are housed in the Smithsonian's Archive of American Artists; in the photographic collection of the George Eastman Museum and other public institutions housing the personal archives of the artists documented.
Simon Kenrick
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A 23-year veteran of Road Scholar, Simon was previously a political journalist, neighborhood artist and kindergarten teacher. He teaches art history at San Francisco State University and Osher Lifelong Learning in Berkeley. Widely traveled in the U.S. and Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, he brings to life his personal knowledge of works and sites in his Road Scholar talks, museum and architectural tours—from Classical Greece and Rome to medieval Morocco, Impressionist Paris and the cutting-edge arts of the contemporary city.
Shannon Harmon
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Shannon Harmon has worked as a group leader, interpreter, and supervisor in California State Parks for 40 years, as well as a ranger interpreter with the Bureau of Land Management and a California high school teacher. She has been a Lewis and Clark enthusiast since high school, and has led Lewis and Clark groups with Road Scholar since 2011. She plays the hammered dulcimer and enjoys singing, drawing, painting, photography, sewing, and traveling.
Dave McMenamin
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Dave McMenamin, a lifelong native of Los Angeles, has a degree in mathematics from Occidental College, and a master's and Ph.D. in economics from UCLA. Dave taught economics at Occidental College for three years while working on his Ph.D. He then joined a company in downtown Los Angeles, holding many varied positions for over 35 years until his retirement in 2016. Dave is a docent and the director of education with Las Angelitas del Pueblo, a volunteer organization dedicated to preserving the city's history.
Suggested Reading List
(19 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Art Collectors and Their Collections
Program Number: 1183
The Getty Center: Richard Meier & Partners
A photographic tour of the Getty Center.
Ways of Seeing
Art critic, painter, essayist and Booker Prize-winning novelist Berger concentrates on how we look at art in this eye-opening and influential classic.
Get the Picture: A Mind-Bending Journey Among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How to See
A journalist's deep dive into the art world's obsession with contemporary art and why it matters.
California the Beautiful
Rowell's exquisite photographs are accompanied by excerpts from Joan Didion, M.F.K. Fisher, Jack London, William Saroyan and many other luminaries in this celebration of the nature and spirit of California.
Water to the Angels, William Mulholland, His Monumental Aqueduct, and the Rise of Los Angeles
In this powerful, beautifully-told biography, Standiford narrates William Mulholland’s drive to bring water from the Sierra Nevadas to Los Angeles, one of the greatest civil engineering feats in history.
Los Angeles City Center Map
A map of the center of L.A.
As I See It: The Autobiography of J. Paul Getty
The famous L.A. tycoon recounts his life in his own words in this timely autobiography:
it was published right before his death in 1976.
The Art Book, Mini Edition
A mini edition of the Phaidon classic. Marching through all periods and schools, the editors at Phaidon juxtapose salient examples of paintings, photographs, sculptures, video, installations and performance art with brief explanatory text.
Art in Time, A World History of Styles and Movements
In this innovative compendium, art scholars reveal fascinating connections between great works of art, art movements and historical progress. Moving from present to antiquity, they highlight 450 paintings, sculptures, photographs, installations, video and new media from around the world.
Building the Getty
An account of the construction of the Getty Center, written by its architect.
The Story of Art
Comprehensive and introductory without being elementary, this celebrated work is essential reading for anyone with any interest in art, architecture or aesthetics.
Where I Was From
Supreme essayist Didion's personal history of California spanning the 18th to 21st centuries. More than a family chronicle, it's also a provocative cultural critique that attacks the myth of the Sunshine State.
Sidewalking, Coming to Terms With Los Angeles
Growing out of a series of strolls, this smart, deeply affectionate portrait peels back the many layers of L.A., revealing a great city that's much more interesting than its sunny beaches, gridlock and movie stars.
William Mulholland and the Rise of Los Angeles
A biography of William Mulholland, the man who led the project of bringing water to Los Angeles. Written by his granddaughter, who seeks to dispel what she believes are common misconceptions about him.
Creating the Future: Art and Los Angeles in the 1970s
Fallon contests the standard assumption that art in L.A. declined after the 1960s through this cultural and social history that highlights the innovative and independent voices and interesting, sometimes bizarre artwork that came out of the 1970s.
Ask the Dust
Fante's oft-forgotten classic novel of Arturo Bandini, a confused young man trying to make it as a writer in L.A.
California: A History (Modern Library Chronicles)
Arguing that America’s most populous state has always been blessed with both spectacular natural beauty and astonishing human diversity, Starr unfolds a rapid-fire epic of discovery, innovation, catastrophe, and triumph.
Fodor's Los Angeles
A practical guide in the popular series, saturated with valuable information on accommodation, shopping, sights, and dining.
L.A. Confidential
James Ellroy's modern noir thriller, a densely plotted yarn in the style of Raymond Chandler. Made into a critically acclaimed film.