The Getty Museum in Los Angeles, US, is reducing its forthcoming operating budget by 25 per cent to address a shortfall in its investment portfolio.

The economic climate has hit the pockets of arts investors, forcing a reduction in J. Paul Getty Trust’s budget from US$284m (£204m) to just US$216m (£155m).

The emergency move is in response to investment losses of US$1.5bn (£1.07bn) since last July and almost US$2bn (£1.4bn) since mid-2007.

The world’s richest art museum may now be forced to host fewer exhibitions and buy fewer works of art.