R. M. SCHINDLER ARCHITECT
David Gebhard and Esther McCoy
David Gebhard and Esther McCoy: R. M. SCHINDLER ARCHITECT. Santa Barbara: The Art Galleries, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1967. First edition. Slim squarish quarto. Thick printed wrappers. 114 pp. Fully illustrated in black and white. Out-of-print and uncommon. Former owners’ signature to front free endpaper, otherwise interior unmarked and clean. Wrappers lightly worn and soiled, but a very good copy.
8 x 10 perfect-bound exhibition catalogue with 114 pages profusely illustrated with b/w examples of Schindler's architecture, interiors, furniture and more. Catalogue for the Exhibition at the Art Galleries, University of California, Santa Barbara, from March 30 to April 30 1967. This was the first exhibition devoted to the architecture of R. M. Schindler. Catalog designed by David Gebhard. Includes some photography by Julius Shulman.
"Each of my buildings deal with a different architectural problem, the existence of which has been forgotten in this period of Rational Mechanization. The question of whether a house is really a house is more important to me, than the fact that it is made of steel, glass, putty or hot air." - R. M. Schindler
Hailing from Vienna, Rudolph Michael Schindler (1887-1953), like his colleague Richard Neutra, emigrated to the US and applied his International Style techniques to the movement that would come to be known as California Modernism. Influenced by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and taking cues from spatial notions found in cubism, he developed a singular style characterized by geometrical shapes, bold lines, and association of materials such as wood and concrete, as seen in his own Hollywood home (built in 1921-22) and the house he designed for P.M. Lovell in Newport Beach (1923-24).
Today, Schindler is finally being regarded as an outstanding exponent of the Californian modernist style. His marginalized historical status traditionally has resulted from the architects' refusal to mimic the streamlined image of the popular modern architecture of the times. In 1932, when Philip Johnson and Henry-Russell Hitchcock organized the exhibition The International Style, they failed in invite Schindler. His prodigious output until his death in 1953, helped him eventually escape the shadow of his compatriot Richard Neutra. Schindler designed over 500 buildings, more than 150 of which, mostly family residences, were actually built. His own residence in Kings Road, Hollywood (1922), and the beach house he designed for Philip Lovell (1926), has a lasting influence on the development of modern architecture in California.
David S. Gebhard (1927 – 1996) was a leading architectural historian, particularly known for his books on the architecture and architects of California. He was a long-time faculty member at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and was dedicated to the preservation of Santa Barbara architecture.
Gebhard was born and raised in Minnesota; he received his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota in 1958. He served, for six years, as director of the Roswell Museum and Art Center in New Mexico, before moving to UC Santa Barbara in 1961. As a teacher he inspired many students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In addition to his long teaching career, he served as director of the University Art Museum for twenty years, building a small gallery into a significant accredited university museum. In this position, he initiated the Architectural Drawings Collection, now one of the leading West Coast repositories for architectural materials. With Robert Winter he co-authored guides to architecture in northern and southern California.
Gebhard was also active in service to his community, serving for many years on the Santa Barbara County Architectural Board of Review. He was active in the Society of Architectural Historians, and served a term as its president in the 1980s.
The David Gebhard Memorial Lecture Series is an annual event sponsored by Pasadena Heritage, an architectural preservation organization in Pasadena, California. [Wikipedia]
As a contributing editor to Arts & Architecture magazine, Esther McCoy (1904 – 1989) was in a unique position to chronicle the brilliant trajectory of the modern movement in California, particularly the Case Study House program. Her insider status gave her unparalleled access to the key figures in the movement.
From the 1989 New York Times Obituary; “Esther McCoy, an architectural historian and critic . . . was a specialist in West Coast architecture and the author of many books and hundreds of articles in leading architectural publications.
“It was she, almost single-handedly, who awakened serious scholars to the extraordinary richness of California architecture,'' wrote Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for The New York Times, when a new edition of Ms. McCoy's 1960 work, ''Five California Architects,'' appeared in 1975. Her book, he added, was largely responsible for rescuing the five almost-forgotten architects - Bernard Maybeck, Irving Gill, R. M. Schindler and Charles and Henry Greene - from obscurity.
“Calling Ms. McCoy ''the pre-eminent writer of California architecture,'' Cesar Pelli, a former dean of the Yale School of Architecture, told The Times in an interview five years ago, ''Our knowledge of Southern California architecture has been primarily formed by her research, her first-hand knowledge and her writing, which is so precise and passionate.''
“She was born in Coffeyville, Kan., and was an undergraduate at the University of Michigan. She began her career in New York writing architecture reviews for a number of publishers.
“She worked as a draftsman in the Hollywood office of R. M. Schindler from 1944 to 1947 and began writing about the architects she had come to know. In 1985, she was given the American Institute of Architects' national honor award for excellence.”