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

Frank Gehry, Babs Altoon, Billy Al Bengston, Larry Bell, John Altoon, and Tony Berlant

Frank Gehry, Babs Altoon, Billy Al Bengston, Larry Bell, John Altoon, and Tony Berlant at Culture Day at LACMA (L.A. County Museum of Art), 1968. Photo by and © Julian Wasser. Courtesy of Julian Wasser, Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, and Museum Associates/LACMA

Historic Map Locations

Works of Art

  • Untitled, Wall Piece

    Untitled, Wall Piece, 1967, Larry Bell. White and black glass, vacuum coated. 120 x 300 in. Collection of Michael Straus, Birmingham, Alabama. © Larry Bell

  • Untitled, 1969, Larry Bell.

    Untitled, 1969, Larry Bell. Mineral-coated glass. 40 x 40 x 40 in. Courtesy The Pace Gallery. © Larry Bell. Photo by Ellen Labenski

  • Sonny

    Sonny, 1961, Billy Al Bengston. Oil on Masonite. 36 x 36 in. Billy Al Bengston Studio Holdings. © Billy Al Bengston. Photo by Brian Forrest

  • Ocean Park Series

    Ocean Park Series, 1962, John Altoon. Oil on canvas. 72 x 84 in. Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA: Museum purchase with additional funds provided by Dr. James B. Pick and Dr. Rosalyn M. Laudati, Mr. Ward Chamberlin, Mrs. E.G. Chamberlin, Patricia Fredericks, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Neisser, Mr. and Mrs. John Martin Shea, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Goldstein, Zada Taylor, Mr. David H. Steinmetz, and Mrs. Bernard McDonald. Permission courtesy of the Estate of John Altoon and Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA. Photo by Gene Ogami

  • Big Jim McLain

    Big Jim McLain, 1967, Billy Al Bengston. Polyurethane and laquer on aluminum. 60 x 58 in. Collection of Joan and Jack Quinn. © Billy Al Bengston

Explore the Archive

  • Video: Irving Blum and Billy Al Bengston on John Altoon

    Video: Irving Blum and Billy Al Bengston speak about the work of John Altoon, 2010-11

  • Video: Billy Al Bengston

    Video: Billy Al Bengston speaks about his work, March 2010

  • Video: Larry Bell

    Video: Larry Bell speaks about his work, March 2011

  • Larry Bell in his studio in Venice, California

    Larry Bell in his studio in Venice, California, ca. late 1960s. Image courtesy of and © Larry Bell

  • Billy Al Bengston polishing an artwork

    Billy Al Bengston polishing an artwork, 1963. © Billy Al Bengston. Image courtesy of Marvin Silver and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica. © Marvin Silver

  • Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston, and Ken Price

    Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston, and Ken Price outside Hotel Caesars in Tijuana, Mexico, 1968. Image courtesy of Larry Bell

  • Ed Moses and Frank Gehry

    Ed Moses and Frank Gehry in Greece, 1975. Image courtesy of Ed Moses and Frank Gehry

  • John Altoon, ca. 1963

    John Altoon smoking, ca. 1963. Image courtesy of Larry Bell. Photo by Dennis Hopper and © The Dennis Hopper Trust

  • 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.

  • Los Angeles artists at Culture Day at LACMA, 1968

    Several Los Angeles artists at Culture Day at LACMA (L.A. County Museum of Art), 1968. Photo by and © Julian Wasser.