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

Billy Al Bengston in his studio

Billy Al Bengston’s studio at Clark Street and Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, 1957. Image courtesy of and © Billy Al Bengston

In the 1950s, Billy Al Bengston’s studio was located in West Hollywood in a building near Barney’s Beanery and close to the Ferus Gallery, which was down the street on La Cienega Boulevard. Other artists, such as Robert Irwin, Edward Kienholz, and John Altoon, also worked nearby at the time.

Historic Map Locations

Works of Art

  • Sonny

    Sonny, 1961, Billy Al Bengston. Oil on Masonite. 36 x 36 in. Billy Al Bengston Studio Holdings. © Billy Al Bengston. Photo by Brian Forrest

  • Big Jim McLain

    Big Jim McLain, 1967, Billy Al Bengston. Polyurethane and laquer on aluminum. 60 x 58 in. Collection of Joan and Jack Quinn. © Billy Al Bengston

Explore the Archive

  • Video: Billy Al Bengston

    Video: Billy Al Bengston speaks about his work, March 2010

  • Billy Al Bengston’s studio

    Billy Al Bengston’s studio at Clark Street and Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, 1957. Image courtesy of and © Billy Al Bengston

  • Billy Al Bengston on his motorcycle

    Billy Al Bengston on a his BSA Victor motorcycle in the Ballona Wetlands, Marina del Rey, California, 1966. Image courtesy of and © Billy Al Bengston

  • Billy Al Bengston in his studio

    Billy Al Bengston’s studio at Clark Street and Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, 1957. Image courtesy of and © Billy Al Bengston

  • Billy Al Bengston polishing an artwork

    Billy Al Bengston polishing an artwork, 1963. © Billy Al Bengston. Image courtesy of Marvin Silver and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica. © Marvin Silver

  • 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

  • Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston, and Ken Price

    Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston, and Ken Price outside Hotel Caesars in Tijuana, Mexico, 1968. Image courtesy of Larry Bell

  • Bill Al Bengston's studio in Venice

    Billy Al Bengston’s studio on Mildred Street in Venice, California, 1970. Image courtesy of and © Billy Al Bengston

  • 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.

  • Los Angeles artists at Culture Day at LACMA, 1968

    Several Los Angeles artists at Culture Day at LACMA (L.A. County Museum of Art), 1968. Photo by and © Julian Wasser.