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.

Vagabond Theatre

The Vagabond Theatre opened in 1926 and operated as Los Angeles’s main revival house until it closed in 1993. Artist Melvin Edwards, an avid film-goer, frequented the theater to see cinema from abroad: “[I saw] mostly foreign films. In fact, I almost didn’t go see American films in the late 50s and early 60s. The Vagabond Theatre was where I went.”

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Explore the Archive

  • Video: Melvin Edwards

    Video: Melvin Edwards speaks about his work, July 2010

  • Melvin Edwards, 1965

    Melvin Edwards in January 1965. Image courtesy of Melvin Edwards