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.

UC Irvine

Freeway

Freeway, 1966, Vija Celmins. Oil on canvas. 17 1/2 x 26 3/8 in. Collection of Harold Cook, Ph.D. © Vija Celmins. Image courtesy McKee Gallery, New York

Founded in 1965, UC Irvine’s studio art program rapidly became a center of advanced artistic trends in Southern California. The department counted John Coplans, Vija Celmins, and Robert Irwin among its faculty. Its first MFA class began in 1969, and included Chris Burden, Barbara Smith, and Nancy Buchanan among its graduates.

Historic Map Locations

Works of Art

  • Freeway

    Freeway, 1966, Vija Celmins. Oil on canvas. 17 1/2 x 26 3/8 in. Collection of Harold Cook, Ph.D. © Vija Celmins. Image courtesy McKee Gallery, New York

  • 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: Vija Celmins

    Video: Vija Celmins speaks about her work, February 2011

  • Video: Barbara T. Smith on art schools

    Video: Learn more about the region’s network of art schools with artist Barbara T. Smith

  • 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

  • Announcement, "Field Piece" at Cirrus

    Announcement for Field Piece, a Barbara T. Smith exhibition at Cirrus Gallery in Los Angeles, 1971. Computer daisy-wheel print. © Barbara T. Smith. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Hal Glicksman, 2009.M.5.4

  • Barbara T. Smith’s artist business card

    Barbara T. Smith’s artist business card, 1970s. © Barbara T. Smith. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Hal Glicksman, 2009.M.5.10