Explore the Era

Delve into the postwar Los Angeles art world in this online archive, which provides additional material related to the exhibitions on view at the Getty Center. Learn about hipsters and happenings, and the venues across the city where all the action took place through images from the archives and first-hand accounts with the artists.

From the Archive

Ferus Gallery, Edward Kienholz installation

Exterior view of the Ferus Gallery during the exhibition of Edward Kienholz's installation Roxy's, 1962. Photo by William Claxton. Courtesy Demont Photo Management, LLC.

Historic Map Locations

Works of Art

  • Walter Hopps Hopps Hopps

    Walter Hopps Hopps Hopps, 1959, Edward Kienholz. Paint and resin on wood, printed color reproductions, ink on paper, vertebrae, telephone parts, candy, dental molds, metal, pencil, and leather. 87 x 42 x 21 in. The Menil Collection, Houston, Gift of Lannan Foundation. © Nancy Reddin Kienholz. Photo: Susan Einstein

  • The Future as Afterthought

    The Future as Afterthought, 1962, Edward Kienholz. Paint and resin on plastic and rubber doll parts with sheet metal, tricycle pedals, and wood. 54 x 21 x 16 15/16 in. Onnasch Collection. © Nancy Reddin Kienholz. Photo courtesy L.A. Louver, Venice, CA

Explore the Archive

  • Video: Edward Kienholz’s 1966 LACMA exhibition

    Video: Visit Edward Kienholz’s 1966 LACMA exhibition and watch people react to his 1964 sculpture Back Seat Dodge ’38. Excerpt from the documentary film Kienholz on Exhibit, 1969, directed by June Steel. © June Steel

  • Video: Lyn Kienholz on censorship

    Video: Arts advocate Lyn Kienholz talks about censorship in the L.A. art scene

  • Video: the postwar L.A. gallery scene

    Video: Making the Scene—find out about the L.A. gallery scene during the postwar years

  • Video: Edward Kienholz’s 1961 exhibition at Ferus Gallery

    Video: Attend the opening of Edward Kienholz’s 1961 exhibition at the Ferus Gallery. Excerpt from the television program Story of an Artist, 1962, directed by William Kronick. Licensed by Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.

  • The Lite Show

    The Lite Show at the Gas House in Venice, California, 1959. Photo by William Claxton. Courtesy Demont Photo Management, LLC.

  • William Claxton, 1955

    William Claxton in 1955. Courtesy Demont Photo Management, LLC.

  • Protest outside Ferus Gallery

    Protest on La Cienega Boulevard, outside the Ferus Gallery, May 15, 1965. The Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin papers, 2005.M.11. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Photo by Charles Brittin

  • Irving Blum with Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans

    Irving Blum with Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, 1962. Photo by William Claxton. Courtesy Demont Photo Management, LLC.

  • Artists outside the Ferus Gallery

    Artists outside the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, 1959. Clockwise from top: Billy Al Bengston, Irving Blum, Ed Moses, and John Altoon. Photo by William Claxton. Courtesy Demont Photo Management, LLC.