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

Poster for Craig Kauffman exhibition

Poster for Craig Kauffman exhibition at Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, 1962. © The Estate of Craig Kauffman. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Michael Asher, 2009.M.30.16. Courtesy Frank Lloyd Gallery, Santa Monica, California

In 1958, Irving Blum bought out Edward Kienholz’s share in the Ferus Gallery for $500. At his urging, the gallery then moved across La Cienega into a larger storefront, narrowed down its list of artists, and streamlined its operations. The artists who showed at Ferus were united in their uncompromising approach, the strident individualism of their art, and a strong common identity (developed through hours spent at Barney’s Beanery). Craig Kauffman was one of the central figures in the Ferus stable.

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Works of Art

  • Untitled

    Untitled, 1969, Craig Kauffman. Acrylic lacquer on plastic. 73 x 50 x 9 in. Courtesy the Estate of Craig Kauffman and the Frank Lloyd Gallery. © The Estate of Craig Kauffman

Explore the Archive

  • Video: the postwar L.A. gallery scene

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

  • Poster for Richard Pettibone exhibition

    Poster for Richard Pettibone exhibition Wanted: $2000 Reward at Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, 1966. Courtesy of the artist. Offset lithograph mounted on board. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Irving Blum, 2009.M.37.2

  • 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

  • Craig Kauffman in Billy Al Bengston's studio

    Craig Kauffman in Billy Al Bengston's studio in the 1960s. Image courtesy of and © Billy Al Bengston

  • 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.

  • Craig Kauffman, ca. 1955

    Craig Kauffman, ca. 1955. © The Estate of Craig Kauffman. Photo by Ed Moses