A quiet documentarian of his time, Charles Brittin photographed Venice in the 1950's and 1960's, leaving an unparalleled record of the social and artistic movements of the era. 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 1960's show the growing interest in political activism that led him to document the wider civil rights movement in Los Angeles. Brittin entrusted the Getty Research Center with his archives, from which these photographs are taken.
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