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Subtitled Los Angeles Art (1945-80) this impressive collection coincides with an ambitious exhibition programme that tells the story of the birth of the Los Angeles art scene. Reviewing the alacrity with which artists responded to the post-war context, with particular focus on the work of Judy Chicago, David Hammons, David Hockney and Ed Ruscha, it highlights the diversity of this period of art history.

Preserving and interpreting indigenous avant-garde art in southern California during a period when all areas outside New York were known as the “regions” is an impressive undertaking. Organised into five chapters, beginning in the 1940s and concluding with the proliferation of visual culture that culminated in the foundation of the MCA in 1980, the scope of this text is vast.

Rich with images, photographs, newspaper clippings, exhibition posters and quirkier pieces, such as a postcard from David Hockney to John Kasmin, this book is a tangible and indispensable souvenir from a period rediscovered.

Bethany Rex