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

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

Video: Irving Blum, John Mason, and Billy Al Bengston speak about the work of Peter Voulkos, 2010–11

Billy Al Bengston’s studio at Clark Street and Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, 1957. Image courtesy of and © Billy Al Bengston

Billy Al Bengston on a his BSA Victor motorcycle in the Ballona Wetlands, Marina del Rey, California, 1966. Image courtesy of and © Billy Al Bengston

Billy Al Bengston’s studio at Clark Street and Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, 1957. Image courtesy of and © Billy Al Bengston

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

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

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

Billy Al Bengston’s studio on Mildred Street in Venice, California, 1970. Image courtesy of and © Billy Al Bengston

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.

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