A consortium led by The J. Paul Getty Trust has purchased the Ebony and Jet archives.

The purchase is the conclusion of a weeklong bankruptcy auction by Johnson Publishing, reports The Chicago Sun-Times. The archive contains photos of many iconic moments in Black history, including a photo of Coretta Scott King cradling her daughter during Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral and a shot of Emmett Till’s battered corpse. Getty agreed to pay $28.5 million for the archive.

The J. Paul Getty Trust is the umbrella organization responsible for running the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Foundation, the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Getty Research Institute. The organization's mission is "the presentation, conservation, and interpretation of the world’s artistic legacy," according to its website. The Getty Trust hosts "conservation work, publications, exhibitions, grant initiatives, and training programs" around the globe. It is named after oil businessman and art collector Jean Paul Getty.

The organization intends to donate the collection to several organizations, including the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Getty Research Institute to ensure it is accessible to the public.

“There is no greater repository of the history of the modern African-American experience than this archive,” Getty Trust president James Cuno said in a statement to The Chicago Tribune. “Saving it and making it available to the public is a great honor and a grave responsibility.”

● EBONY ● #ebonymagazine
#jet
#theblackimagecorporation
#martingropiusbau
#berlin
pic.twitter.com/srwB0tRWbD

— Breda Lynch (@BredaLynch2) July 25, 2019

The consortium includes The Ford Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation as co-purchasers.

“We’re thrilled with the outcome,” said Ford Foundation President Darren Walker. “This archive is a national treasure and one of tremendous importance to the telling of black history in America. We felt it was imperative to preserve these images, to give them the exposure they deserve and make them readily available to the public.”

The auction started three months after the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. A portion of the proceeds will be used to repay a loan from married couple George Lucas and Mellody Hobson. The pair donated $12 million in 2015 to save the struggling business. Ebony and Jet Magazines were sold to Clear View Group the following year.

An asset purchase agreement was filed on Wednesday and is expected to be approved Thursday afternoon. If a bankruptcy judge approves the sale, the deal will close on Friday.

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