Photographer Charles Brittin: Oakwood, Venice

A quiet documentarian of his time, Charles Brittin photographed Venice in the 1950s and 1960s, leaving an unparalleled record of the social and artistic movements of the era. Though best known for his coverage of the avant-garde and beat scenes, Brittin was nonetheless an acute observer of the racial and economic disparities of the area. His photographs of Oakwood in the 1960s and 1970s show the growing interest in political activism that led him to document the wider civil rights movement in Los Angeles. Photos courtesy of the Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin Archives.