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.

From the Archive

Irving Blum with Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans

Irving Blum with Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, 1962. Photo by William Claxton. Courtesy Demont Photo Management, LLC.

Irving Blum staged Andy Warhol’s very first solo exhibition at the Ferus Gallery in 1962, just as Pop art was rising to prominence in both New York and Los Angeles.

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Explore the Archive

  • Video: the postwar L.A. gallery scene

    Video: Making the Scene—find out about the L.A. gallery scene during the postwar years

  • Poster for Richard Pettibone exhibition

    Poster for Richard Pettibone exhibition Wanted: $2000 Reward at Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, 1966. Courtesy of the artist. Offset lithograph mounted on board. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Irving Blum, 2009.M.37.2

  • Poster for Craig Kauffman exhibition

    Poster for Craig Kauffman exhibition at Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, 1962. © The Estate of Craig Kauffman. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Michael Asher, 2009.M.30.16. Courtesy Frank Lloyd Gallery, Santa Monica, California

  • Poster for The Studs group exhibition

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

  • William Claxton, 1955

    William Claxton in 1955. Courtesy Demont Photo Management, LLC.

  • Ferus Gallery, Edward Kienholz installation

    Exterior view of the Ferus Gallery during the exhibition of Edward Kienholz's installation Roxy's, 1962. Photo by William Claxton. Courtesy Demont Photo Management, LLC.

  • Artists outside the Ferus Gallery

    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.