Times reporter Jason Felch to discuss ‘Chasing Aphrodite’ at Book Soup

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‘Chasing Aphrodite,’ the new book by Jason Felch and Ralph Frammolino, is an intimate account of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and its past dealings in the looted antiquities trade. The book grew out of the authors’ reporting on the controversies at the world-renowned museum for the Los Angeles Times.

On Tuesday, Felch, who is an investigative reporter for the Times, will present ‘Chasing Aphrodite’ at Book Soup in West Hollywood. Felch is scheduled to discuss and sign the book starting at 7 p.m.

The title of the volume comes from the Getty’s prized statue of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, which was bought in 1988 for $18 million. The statue was recently shipped to Sicily as part of the museum’s 2007 agreement with the Italian government, under which 40 disputed works of art were returned.

Italy and the Getty also agreed at the time to a broad cultural collaboration that would include loans of significant art works, joint exhibitions and other endeavors.

One of the main focuses of the book is former Getty curator Marion True, who was tried in Italy for conspiring to traffic in looted art. Last year, charges against her were dropped after a judge in Italy ruled that the statute of limitations had expired.

A review of ‘Chasing Aphrodite’ in The Times called the book fascinating: ‘This chronicle of [True’s] painful, protracted fall from grace certainly makes for a riveting cautionary tale.’

RELATED:

Getty Museum’s senior antiquities curator leaving for Corning Museum of Glass

Critic’s Notebook: The Getty’s stubborn politics

James Cuno of Art Institute of Chicago signs on as new Getty Trust president and CEO

-- David Ng

Photos, from top: ‘Chasing Aphrodite.’ Credit: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Getty Villa. Credit: Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images.