The Arab Foundation for the Image, Beirut, Lebanon
Photographic Archive
$70,000 awarded December 1999

The Arab Foundation for the Image—founded in Beirut in 1996 to collect and preserve the photographic heritage of the Middle East and North Africa—received a Getty grant for the arrangement and description of 11,000 images dating from 1860 to 1960. These images reflect the extraordinary social and cultural changes that occurred in the Arab world during this period, as viewed through the eyes of resident photographers. They also represent a broad range of photographic techniques and subject matter. Grant funds are being used to hire an outside archivist and cataloguers to research the works in the collection and input information into a customized database. The project also incorporates preservation strategies such as staff training in cleaning and conservation methods. At the project's conclusion, scholars will be able to access images and collection information either onsite at public kiosks or online via a link from the Arab Foundation's Web site.

Fondation Le Corbusier, Paris, France
Catalogue of the Archive
Fr 1,380,000 awarded July 1998

Getty funds supported an electronic catalogue of the Paris-based archive of the Fondation Le Corbusier. Charles-Edouard Jeanneret—known as Le Corbusier—is considered one of the most influential architects of the twentieth century. His masterpieces include the Villa Savoye in Poissy, France, and the chapel of Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamp, France. The extensive Le Corbusier archive was left to the foundation on the architect's death in 1965. It contains the written archives of Le Corbusier's architectural practice; additional design, photographic, radio, and film archives; and the architect's extensive personal archives. Although the foundation welcomed visitors prior to Getty funding, the lack of organization and proper storage made it difficult for scholars to locate relevant information and threatened the survival of fragile documents. Grant funds supported the arrangement and electronic cataloguing of the collection's key archival documents and photographs, as well as project oversight by a scholarly committee. Portions of the catalogue are already being used by visiting scholars and will soon be available to scholars worldwide via the Internet.

The Netherlands Architecture Institute, Rotterdam
Pierre Cuypers Archive
200,000 Euros awarded March 2002

The Netherlands Architecture Institute received an archival grant for the arrangement and description of the Pierre Cuypers archive. Often called the "grandfather of Dutch modernism," Cuypers is considered the most important Dutch architect of the nineteenth century. The Netherlands Architecture Institute, which comprises a museum and research library devoted to architecture, urban design, and planning, includes more than 450 archival collections related to Dutch architects from 1800 to 1980. The Cuypers archive is unusually comprehensive, including thousands of design sketches, working drawings, blueprints, documents, and photographs for each of his completed projects. Access to these materials has been limited, however, because of the lack of effective finding aids and the need for reorganization. Grant funds are supporting consultants and related costs for a three-year project that began with a comprehensive examination of the archive and a careful reordering of the materials. Next, descriptive information, including information on the scale and specific features of each drawing, will be prepared. The project is overseen by a group of advisors including experts from partner institutions, potential users, and other specialists. Upon completion, visitors to the Institute's library will have access to the full range of the Cuypers archive. Summary information about the archive's contents will also be available online.

See a complete listing of grants awarded.