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

Robert Irwin, ca. 1967

Robert Irwin, ca. 1967. Photo by Frank J. Thomas. Courtesy of the Frank J. Thomas Archives

Historic Map Locations

Works of Art

  • Black on White

    Black on White, 2011, Robert Irwin. Granite. 60 x 36 x 392 in. This work was commissioned by the J. Paul Getty Trust in honor of James N. Wood. © Robert Irwin
    These images show a model of the installation, the quarry in India where the granite was sourced, and the piece after delivery to the fabricator.

Explore the Archive

  • Video: Robert Irwin’s installation Black on White

    Video: Documentation of the artistic process, fabrication, and installation of Robert Irwin’s installation Black on White

  • Robert Irwin and James Turrell

    Robert Irwin and James Turrell inside the anechoic chamber at UCLA, 1969. Image courtesy of Malcolm Lubliner and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica. © Malcolm Lubliner

  • Larry Bell and Robert Irwin studios

    View of Market Street in Venice, California, in 1970, showing the studio buildings of Larry Bell (right) and Robert Irwin (left). Photo by Larry Bell. Courtesy of and © Larry Bell

  • Poster for The Studs group exhibition

    Poster for The Studs group exhibition at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, 1964. Image courtesy of Hal Glicksman