The Getty has just acquired photographs by Ed Ruscha. Seventy-four prints, including depictions of gas stations from Los Angeles to Oklahoma City along Route 66, sidewalk views of buildings that were included in his self-published books Some Los Angeles Apartments and Real Estate Opportunities, and shots of the Los Angeles County Museum from the sky, are the first works by Ruscha to join the Museum’s collection.

The Getty Research Institute will now house Ruscha’s Streets of Los Angeles Archive, a trove of hundreds of contact sheets and tens of thousands of images that document the city’s streetscapes, from Melrose and Western Avenues to Pacific Coast Highway. Included also are the production material for Ruscha’s historic Every Building on the Sunset Strip (1966). Part of the material comes as a promised gift from the artist himself.

Here’s a first sampling of Ruscha’s eye on L.A.’s streets, structures, and signs.

Gas Stations

Standard, Figueroa Street, Los Angeles / Ed Ruscha

Standard, Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, Ed Ruscha, 1962. Gelatin silver print, 4 7/8 x 5 3/4 in. Image courtesy Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles. © Ed Ruscha

Standard, Amarillo, Texas / Ed Ruscha

Standard, Amarillo, Texas, Ed Ruscha, 1962. Gelatin silver print, 4 11/16 x 4 3/4 in. Image courtesy Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles. © Ed Ruscha

Verso of Standard, Amarillo, Texas / Ed Ruscha

Standard, Amarillo, Texas, Ed Ruscha, 1962. Verso with artist's notes and signature. Gelatin silver print, 4 11/16 x 4 3/4 in. The J. Paul Getty Museum, L.2011.63.9. Image courtesy Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles. © Ed Ruscha

Studies for Los Angeles County Museum on Fire

Untitled Study for Los Angeles County Museum on Fire / Ed Ruscha

Untitled Study for Los Angeles County Museum on Fire, Ed Ruscha, 1964-65. Monochrome dye diffusion transfer print, 2 7/8 x 3 3/4 in. Image courtesy Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles. © Ed Ruscha

Some Apartment Buildings

818 S. Doheny Drive from Some Apartment Buildings / Ed Ruscha

818 S. Doheny Dr. from Some Apartment Buildings, Ed Ruscha, 1965. Gelatin silver print, 4 9/16 x 4 5/8 in. Image courtesy Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles. © Ed Ruscha

Sunset Strip

Test prints for Sunset Strip portfolio / Ed Ruscha

Test prints for Sunset Strip portfolio, Ed Ruscha, photographs, 1966; portfolio, 1995. Part of the Streets of Los Angeles Archive, The Getty Research Institute. © Ed Ruscha

Detail from Test prints for Sunset Strip portfolio / Ed Ruscha

Detail from Test prints for Sunset Strip portfolio, Ed Ruscha, photographs, 1966; portfolio, 1995. Part of the Streets of Los Angeles Archive, The Getty Research Institute. © Ed Ruscha

Streets of Los Angeles

Shoot from Hollywood Blvd. / Ed Ruscha

Shoot from Hollywood Blvd., Ed Ruscha, 1973. Contact sheet. Part of the Streets of Los Angeles Archive, The Getty Research Institute. © Ed Ruscha

Detail of drawing from a notebook / Ed Ruscha

Detail of drawing from a notebook. Ed Ruscha. Part of the Streets of Los Angeles Archive, The Getty Research Institute. © Ed Ruscha

Print Friendly