![Gusmano Cesaretti, Street Writers [Gusmano Cesaretti with fisheye lens tag], 1973, gelatin silver print, 5 7/8 x 8 3/4 in. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Purchased with funds provided by Philip D. Nathanson. © Gusmano Cesaretti.](https://cdn.loeildelaphotographie.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/01-cesaretti-x540q80.jpg)
![Gusmano Cesaretti, Street Writers [Chaz Bojórquez running through a back street near Whittier Boulevard, East Los Angeles], 1973, gelatin silver print, 5 7/8 x 8 3/4 in. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Purchased with funds provided by Philip D. Nathanson. © Gusmano Cesaretti.](https://cdn.loeildelaphotographie.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/03-cesaretti-x540q80.jpg)
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens has acquired the archive of Italian-born artist Gusmano Cesaretti, a self-taught photographer renowned for capturing significant portraits of Southern California’s Mexican American community, incisive views of Los Angeles urban space, and set images for multiple Hollywood films.
Spanning six decades, the Cesaretti collection comprises approximately 238 boxes of photographic prints, negatives, contact sheets, artist books, and mixed media works, along with documents, recordings, and personal ephemera. This major acquisition significantly enriches the Huntington Library’s holdings of more than 800,000 historical and contemporary photographs.
Born in Lucca, Italy, in 1944, Cesaretti immigrated to the United States at the age of 19 with a oneway ticket, spending four years in Chicago before moving to Los Angeles in 1967. He immersed himself in the city’s art and street culture, developing a distinct photographic style. Between 1971 and 1973, he worked as a staff photographer at The Huntington, refining his skills while capturing artworks and botanical scenes on film. In his free time, he roamed East Los Angeles, documenting graffiti artists, lowrider clubs, and intimate community moments, earning trust by sharing prints with his subjects. In 1977, he founded Cityscape Foto Gallery in Pasadena, exhibiting works by local and international photographers such as Patrick Nagatani, Antonin Kratochvil, and Loretta Ayeroff.
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens
1151 Oxford Rd
San Marino, CA 91108
https://huntington.org/
