The Getty Museum, the richest arts centre in the world, is reducing its operating budget by 25 percent due to the economic crisis.

Visitors view Vincent Van Gogh's 'Irises' at the Getty centre

A spokesman for the Paul Getty Trust said its investment portfolio fell to $4.5 billion in the second half of 2008, down from $6 billion the previous year.

A spokeswoman told the Daily Telegraph that its budget for the forthcoming fiscal year would be $216 million, a drop from $284 million the previous fiscal year.

As a result of the decline, James Wood, president of the Paul Getty Trust, said the museum will be hosting fewer exhibitions and buying fewer works of art.

He conceded the trust’s finances were in danger of E2falling off a cliff” if business gets any worse.

Since opening in 1982, the trust has covered most of its expenses with portfolio earnings, held by investors. Accordingly, in common with many other companies, it has become a casualty of the stock market.

The museum is home to some of the world’s most renowned art collections, including Vincent Van Gogh’s famous ‘Irises’; 20th century French impressionists, and Italian masters of the 13th century.

The news follows similar cutbacks at other American arts institutions.

Last month, the Philadelphia Museum of Art announced it is cutting seven percent of its staff and reducing its budget following a recent loss of $90 million.

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art also announced cutbacks affecting a quarter of its commercial staff.

In California as a whole, unemployment is currently at 10.1 percent, well above the national US average of 8.1 percent.