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.

Los Angeles #3

Los Angeles Downtown #3

Los Angeles Downtown #3, 1971, Anthony Hernandez. Gelatin silver print. 7 3/4 x 11 13/16 in. Purchased in part with finds provided by the Photographs Council of the J. Paul Getty Museum. © Anthony Hernandez

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

Following two years of study at East Los Angeles College and two years of service in the U.S. Army, Anthony Hernandez took up photography in earnest around 1970. For this image, he preset his 35mm camera so that objects within a specific range would be in focus. Then, while walking the streets of downtown Los Angeles, he swung the camera to his eye for a fraction of a second to capture fellow pedestrians as well as the ambient mood of a city more typically experienced from the driver’s seat. A native of Los Angeles, Hernandez has continued to photograph the city, addressing issues of community, shelter, and survival in his work.

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Exhibition audio: Anthony Hernandez talks about his work.