$12 million gift announced by Alexander Spear earmarked for permanent fund supporting museum’s education programs
The J. Paul Getty Trust announced a landmark $12 million gift from the Camilla Chandler Family Foundation to establish the Mia Chandler Endowment for School Visits, a permanent fund supporting the Getty Museum’s education programs and its free bus service for K-12 students from Title I and similarly eligible schools.
The gift, the largest received by Getty since J. Paul Getty’s original bequest, will ensure that thousands of students across Los Angeles continue to have direct access to the Getty Center and the Getty Villa.
“Education and access are at the heart of Getty’s mission,” said Katherine E. Fleming, president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust.
“This transformational gift will greatly deepen and amplify the work of our education department as we continue to find innovative ways to provide the lifelong inspiration of art to young people across Southern California and beyond.”
The endowment honors Camilla “Mia” Chandler, a prominent philanthropist and cultural leader whose decades of service shaped Los Angeles’ civic and artistic landscape.
A granddaughter of Harry Chandler, the influential publisher of the Los Angeles Times, she built on her family’s legacy of civic leadership through her own deep commitment to education, the environment, and the arts.
She was a founding trustee and the first female board president of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, where she pioneered initiatives to fund school bus service so that children from underserved neighborhoods could experience art.
She also played key roles with the Southwest Museum, the Los Angeles Music Center, Caltech, the Nature Conservancy, and Wellesley College.
Her son, Alexander Spear, reflected on the significance of the Getty gift: “My mother was always interested in sharing her appreciation of fine arts from her early days as a docent at the Southwest Museum to her long association with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It was always important to her that school-aged children had access to exhibits under the guidance of knowledgeable docents. This gift to the Getty is a fitting tribute to her legacy—enabling children from diverse economic backgrounds to have that exposure for years to come. I think she would be very pleased.”
The Chandler family has long played a central role in shaping Los Angeles’ cultural and civic life, beginning with the leadership of the Los Angeles Times and continuing through decades of philanthropy in education and the arts.
The Camilla Chandler Family Foundation, led today by her descendants, remains devoted to expanding access and opportunity for future generations.
In the 2024–25 school year, Getty’s free bus program welcomed more than 47,000 students and chaperones, with demand continuing to grow as funding for arts education faces pressure across California.
The Mia Chandler Endowment for School Visits provides a permanent source of support, ensuring that the Getty remains a vital educational resource and cultural destination for young people from all backgrounds.