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.

Framing, Lakewood, California

Framing, Lakewood, California, William Garnett

Framing, Lakewood, California, 1950, William A. Garnett. Gelatin silver print. 7 1/4 x 9 1/2 in. © Estate of William A. Garnett

On View at the Getty Center: In Focus Los Angeles 1945-1980

The reduced scale and regular spacing of shapes lend a toy-like quality to Garnett’s suite of prints depicting construction phases of tract housing in the Los Angeles County suburb of Lakewood. The deep shadows, overall patterning, and dramatic diagonals that slice through each composition introduce a sophisticated sense of design and abstraction. After studying photography at Art Center College of Design and military service during World War II, William Garnett learned to fly so that he could photograph his subjects from his Cessna 170-B airplane. Although he was hired by developers to document the construction of 17,500 affordable single-family residences in Lakewood, the majority of his aerial photographs depict the beauty of America’s landscape.

Works of Art

  • Plaster and Roofing, Lakewood, California

    Plaster and Roofing, Lakewood, California, 1950, William A. Garnett. Gelatin silver print. 7 11/16 x 9 9/16 in. © Estate of William A. Garnett

  • Foundation and Slabs, Lakewood, California, Garnett

    Foundation and Slabs, Lakewood, California, 1950, William A. Garnett. Gelatin silver print. 7 7/16 x 9 3/8 in. © Estate of William A. Garnett

  • Finished Housing, Lakewood, California, William Garnett

    Finished Housing, Lakewood, California, 1950, William A. Garnett. Gelatin silver print. 7 3/8 x 9 7/16 in. © Estate of William A. Garnett