LOS ANGELES, CA.- The J. Paul Getty Trust awarded the Second Annual J. Paul Getty Medal to Lord Jacob Rothschild at a gathering of international arts leaders held at the Getty Center in Brentwood on Sunday, November 9. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow introduced the British investment banker and distinguished arts leader, who was honored for his influential leadership in the preservation of built cultural heritage.

“We honor Lord Rothschild not only for the extent of his distinguished service to the arts but for the quality of his work and the important contribution to the conservation and deeper appreciation of the world’s artistic legacy,” said J. Paul Getty Trust President and CEO James Cuno in presenting the medal.

In accepting the award, Lord Rothschild spoke admiringly of Getty’s contributions to the arts and humanities, including contributions by Getty’s son and grandson to British institutions with which Lord Rothschild has been associated. He also spoke of the links between the Getty Museum and the Rothschild family collections. “If you were to look in the index of the catalogue of the Getty’s decorative arts collection you would find no less than thirty-eight Rothschilds from whom the Getty has made acquisitions,” he said.

“I want to say how much I appreciate this totally unexpected and generous honor which you have given me,” he said in concluding his remarks.

Nearly 250 guests from across the art world attended to honor Lord Rothschild at a dinner in a pavilion on the plaza of the landmark Getty Center, designed by Pritzker-Prize-winning architect Richard Meier. Attendees included artists Ed Ruscha, Charles Ray, Tacita Dean and Matthew Hale. Also attending were Deborah Swallow, Märit Rausing Director of the Courtauld institute of Art; James Snyder, Anne and Jerome Fisher Director of The Israel Museum; Steven S. Koblik, president of The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens; Stephen Lavine, president of California Institute of the Arts and Ann Philbin, director of the Hammer Museum.

Other notables included producer William Friedkin and former chair of the Motion Pictures Group of Paramount Pictures Sherry Lansing; Lord Frederick Windsor, Carole Black, former CEO and president of Lifetime TV; Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky; former California attorney general John Van de Kamp; former Getty Trust president and CEO and previous Getty Medal Award-winner Harold Williams, and philanthropist and art collector Shelby White, among others.

Getty trustees Mark S. Siegel, Joanne C. Kozberg, David Lee, Michael Lynton, Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana, William E. B. Siart, Ronald P. Spogli. Peter J. Taylor, Maria Hummer Tuttle and Jay S. Wintrob also attended, as did J. Paul Getty Museum director Timothy Potts, Getty Research Institute director Thomas Gaehtgens and Getty Conservation Institute director Tim Whalen.