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

Larry Bell and Robert Irwin studios

View of Market Street in Venice, California, in 1970, showing the studio buildings of Larry Bell (right) and Robert Irwin (left). Photo by Larry Bell. Courtesy of and © Larry Bell

Historic Map Locations

Works of Art

  • Untitled, Wall Piece

    Untitled, Wall Piece, 1967, Larry Bell. White and black glass, vacuum coated. 120 x 300 in. Collection of Michael Straus, Birmingham, Alabama. © Larry Bell

  • Untitled, 1969, Larry Bell.

    Untitled, 1969, Larry Bell. Mineral-coated glass. 40 x 40 x 40 in. Courtesy The Pace Gallery. © Larry Bell. Photo by Ellen Labenski

  • 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: Robert Irwin’s installation Black on White

    Video: Documentation of the artistic process, fabrication, and installation of Robert Irwin’s installation Black on White

  • Video: Larry Bell

    Video: Larry Bell speaks about his work, March 2011

  • Larry Bell in his studio in Venice, California

    Larry Bell in his studio in Venice, California, ca. late 1960s. Image courtesy of and © Larry Bell

  • Robert Irwin and James Turrell

    Robert Irwin and James Turrell inside the anechoic chamber at UCLA, 1969. Image courtesy of Malcolm Lubliner and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica. © Malcolm Lubliner

  • 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

  • Exterior of Larry Bell's studio in Venice, CA

    Exterior view of Larry Bell's studio on Market Street in Venice, California, ca. 1970. Image courtesy of and © Larry Bell

  • Robert Irwin, ca. 1967

    Robert Irwin, ca. 1967. Photo by Frank J. Thomas. Courtesy of the Frank J. Thomas Archives

  • Larry Bell's studio

    Larry Bell’s studio in 1970. Photo by Larry Bell. Image courtesy of Billy Al Bengston

  • Larry Bell in his studio

    Larry Bell in his studio in Venice, California, 1969. Image courtesy of Malcolm Lubliner and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica. © Malcolm Lubliner

  • Larry Bell in his studio

    Larry Bell in his Market Street studio in Venice, California, 1961. Image courtesy of Larry Bell, Marvin Silver and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica. © Marvin Silver