Wallace Berman Home and Studio&raquo;Pacific Standard Time at the Getty

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.

Wallace Berman Home and Studio

In 1964, after their house on Crater Lane was destroyed in a mudslide, Wallace Berman and his family relocated permanently to Topanga Canyon. It is here that Berman created the majority of his Verifax collages and rock constructions, including Untitled (Faceless Faces with Kabala) (1963–70), and Topanga Seed (1969–70). He lived in Topanga Canyon until his untimely death in a car accident in 1976.

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Untitled (Verifax Collage), 1969, Wallace Berman. Verifax collage on board. 45 x 48 in. Collection of Michael D. Fox, Berkeley, CA, courtesy Steven Wolf Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA. Permission courtesy of the Estate of Wallace Berman and Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles. Photo by Joe Schopplein
Untitled (Faceless Faces with Kabala), 1963–70, Wallace Berman. Verifax collage with transfer lettering. 29 7/8 x 28 11/16 in. Collection of Nicole Klagsbrun. Permission courtesy of the Estate of Wallace Berman and Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles
Topanga Seed, 1969–70, Wallace Berman. Dolomite rock and transfer letters. 39 x 40 3/4 x 41 in. Collection of the Grinstein Family. Permission courtesy of the Estate of Wallace Berman and Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles
Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, 1964, Wallace Berman. Mixed media collage. 44 1/2 x 32 ¼ x 2 in. Collection of David Yorkin & Alix Madigan, Los Angeles. Permission courtesy of the Estate of Wallace Berman and Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles
Card to George Herms, 1970, Wallace Berman. Letterpress, ink, and gelatin silver print on board. 6 1/4 x 4 in. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of George Herms, 2009.M.20.9. Courtesy of the Estate of Wallace Berman and Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles
Card to Betty Asher, ca. 1965, Wallace Berman. Photomontage and ink on board. 4 x 2 15/16 in. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Michael Asher, 2009.M.30.25. Courtesy of the Estate of Wallace Berman and Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles

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Video: George Herms speaks about the work of Wallace Berman, March 2011
Wallace Berman with his collage Papa's Got a Brand New Bag in 1965. Art © the Estate of Wallace Berman and Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles. Image courtesy of Marvin Silver and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica. © Marvin Silver

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