Artist Pubs
Billy Al Bengston

Billy Al Bengston (1934 - 2022) was active/lived in California, Kansas.  Billy Bengston is known for Abstraction, pop imagery painting-chevrons.

"Billy Al Bengston, Painter Who Channeled California Cool, Dies at 88," Obituary, The New York Times, by Alex Williams, October 20, 2022

A former motorcycle racer and stuntman, he helped put Los Angeles on the art world map with paintings inspired by the West Coast’s surf and surf culture of mid-century Los Angeles, and was part of a 1960s movement, known as L.A. Cool School, that helped transform the city from an art-world afterthought into a hub of contemporary art, died on Oct. 8 at his home in Venice, Calif. He was 88.

His wife, Wendy Al, confirmed the death, of unspecified cause.

A surfer, a motorcycle racer and briefly a Hollywood stuntman, Mr. Bengston found prominence in the late 1950s as part of a new wave of Southern California artists aligned with the pioneering Ferus Gallery in West Hollywood, founded by Walter Hopps and the artist Ed Kienholz.

Mr. Bengston, with his flamboyant attire and deadpan wit, was a central figure — along with the   ...  [Displaying 1000 of 13908 characters.]  Artist bio

Artist auction records

.  askART's database currently holds 325 auction lots for Billy Al Bengston (of which 266 auction records sold and 1 are upcoming at auction.)

Artist artworks for sale and wanted

.  There are 2 artworks for sale on our website by galleries and art dealers . There are 7 galleries and art dealers listing works of art by Billy Al Bengston as either "Wanted" or "For Sale" .

Research resources

.  askART lists Billy Al Bengston in 0 of its research Essays. Billy Al Bengston has 6 artist signature examples available in our database.

Similar artists

.  There are 24 similar (related) artists for Billy Al Bengston available:    Craig Kauffman,  Tom Holland,  Peter Alexander,  Ed (Edward) Moses,  Larry Stuart Bell,  Lita Albuquerque,  Larry Cohen,  Wallace Berman,  Duane "Richard" Faralla,  Laddie John Dill,  Tony Berlant,  George Herms,  Robert Graham,  Charles Garabedian,  Tony De Lap,  John Altoon,  Karl Stanley Benjamin,  John A Okulick,  Richard McLean,  Bruce Joel Cohen,  Joe Goode,  Charles Arthur (Chuck) Arnoldi,  Jack Mendenhall,  Ann Thornycroft



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Facts about Billy Al Bengston

   Publications  Book References:  48
Magazine References:  5

The listed publications are derived from what askART has identified from our research for this artist and are intended as an additional tool for information. askART has derived Publications as an aid to members, but it is not necessarily a complete list.
5 Miscellaneous Magazine References for Billy Al Bengston
Magazine Article Date Author Color
Art-Talk Etc. etc., etc. with Joan March 2004 Quinn, Joan Yes
Art-Talk Joan Quinn, Etc., Etc., Etc. March 2003 Quinn, Joan Agajanian No
ARTnews Four Abstract Classicists November 2001 Editors, ARTnews Yes
Art in America Assessing the Golden State April 2001 Duncan, Michael Yes
ARTFORUM Reviews January 2001 Editors, Art Forum Yes
48 Book References for Billy Al Bengston
Year Author Title Pages Color
2005 AskART.com Inc. -
Dunbier, Lonnie Pierson (Editor)
The Artists Bluebook 34,000 North American Artists to March 2005 479 No
2005 Davenport, Ray Davenport's Art Reference: The Gold Edition 2421 No
2005 Sasse, Julie Paint on Metal: Modern and Contemporary Explorations and Discoveries 154 Yes
2004 McGowan, Alison C (Editor) Who's Who in American Art, 2004 2003 - 2004 (25th Edition) 1512 No
2002 Komanecky, Michael K. (editor) Phoenix Art Museum Collection Highlights 352 Yes
1999 Falk, Peter Hastings (Editor) Who Was Who in American Art, 1564-1975: Three Volumes 3724 No
1998 Moure, Nancy Dustin Wall California Art: 450 Years of Painting & Other Media 560 Yes
1997 Marquis Who's Who Who's Who in American Art, 1997-1998 1515 No
1996 Hopps, Walter (others) American Images/The SBC Collection of 20th Century American Art 320 Yes
1995 Stein, Donna Between Reality and Abstraction California Art at the End of the Century
(Exhibition catalog)
64 Yes
1993 Ferguson, Russell (editor) Hand-Painted Pop American Art in Transition 1955-62
(Exhibition catalog)
256 Yes
1990 Livingstone, Marco Pop Art A Continuing History 271 Yes
1989 Ayres, Anne/Jay Belloli L A Pop in the Sixties
(Exhibition catalog)
144 Yes
1989 Hopkins, Henry California Painters/New Work 143 Yes
1989 Naylor, Colin (editor) Contemporary Artists (3rd Edition) 1059 No
1988 Contemporary Arts Museum Billy I I (two) Billy Al Bengston
(Exhibition catalog)
144 Yes
1988 Marrow, Marva Inside the L A Artist 104 Yes
1987 Cummings, Paul Dictionary of Contemporary American Artists (5th Edition) 653 No
1987 Krane, Susan Albright-Knox Art Gallery Painting and Sculpture/Acquisitions since 1972 379 Yes
1987 Stich, Sidra Made In U S A An Americanization in Modern Art '50s & 60s
(Exhibition catalog)
280 Yes
1985 DuPont, Diana, K Holland San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Paintings and Sculpture Collection 402 Yes
1985 Krantz, Les American Artists: An Illustrated Survey of Leading Contemporary Americans 347 Yes
1985 Perine, Robert Chouinard: An Art Vision Betrayed: A History of the Chouinard Art Institute 260 Yes
1984 McDonald, Robert; Richard Vincent West Art of the States Works from a Santa Barbara Collection
(Exhibition catalog)
80 Yes
1984 Orr-Cahill, Christina The Art of California Selected Works/ Oakland Museum 199 Yes
1984 Wilson, William California Museums The Los Angeles Times Book of 288 Yes
1983 Monterey Peninsula Museum California Contemporary Recent Work of Twenty Three Artists
(Exhibition catalog)
63 No
1983 Museum of Contemporary Art The First Show (1940-1980) Painting and Sculpture from Eight Collections
(Exhibition catalog)
293 Yes
1982 Contemporary Arts Museum The Americans/The Collage
(Exhibition catalog)
143 Yes
1981 Art Center College of Design Decade Los Angeles Painting in the Seventies
(Exhibition catalog)
108 Yes
1981 Ball, Maudette Southern California Artists 1940-1980
(Exhibition catalog)
66 Yes
1981 Osborne, Harold The Oxford Companion to Twentieth Century Art 656 Yes
1981 Tuchman, Maurice Art in Los Angeles: Seventeen Artists in the Sixties Seventeen Artists in the Sixties
(Exhibition catalog)
162 Yes
1980 Feinblatt, Ebria/Bruce Davis Los Angeles Prints 1883-1980
(Exhibition catalog)
111 No
1979 Baigell, Mathew Dictionary of American Art 390 No
1979 Kahan, Mitchell Douglas (Intro) Art Inc, American Paintings from Corporate Collections Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Alabama
(Exhibition catalog)
298 Yes
1978 California State U Long Beach Frederick Weisman Collection California Art
(Exhibition catalog)
64 Yes
1977 Barr, Alfred H Painting and Sculpture in the Museum of Modern Art 655 No
1976 Jaques Cattell Press Who's Who in American Art, 1976 12th Edition 756 No
1976 San Francisco Mus Modern Art Painting & Sculpture in California The Modern Era 272 Yes
1974 Alloway, Lawrence American Pop Art
(Exhibition catalog)
146 Yes
1974 Baur, John I H Whitney Museum of American Art Catalogue of the Collection 235 Yes
1974 Plagens, Peter Sunshine Muse Contemporary Art on the West Coast 200 Yes
1974 University of Illinois Contemporary American Painting and Sculpture, 1974
(Exhibition catalog)
136 No
1969 Coplans, John West Coast 1945-1969
(Exhibition catalog)
60 No
1969 Eindhoven, Abbemuseum Kompas 4 Westkust USA/West Coast USA
(Exhibition catalog)
50 Yes
1969 Hopkins, Henry (Preface); Peter Plagens, Essay Drawings: Exhibition of Contemporary American Drawings Fort Worth Art Center Museum
(Exhibition catalog)
84 No
1966 Lippard, Lucy R Pop Art 216 Yes
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