Richard Neutra Austrian / American, 1892-1970

Born in Vienna, 8 April 1892, Richard Josef Neutra was an influential American architect and writer of Austrian birth. He entered the Technische Hochschule in Vienna in 1911 but did not graduate until 1917 after serving in the Austrian army. In Vienna he became well acquainted with the work of Otto Wagner and attended many of the weekly meetings held by Adolf Loos. In 1912 he met Rudolph Schindler, and, like him and like many other Europeans at the time, he was deeply affected by the designs of Frank Lloyd Wright.  He arrived in America in 1923, and soon Schindler in Los Angeles, California. Neutra's first major commission, the Lovell House (1929), announced the arrival of an important new architectural vision and was internationally recognized.  In 1932, Neutra designed a home for himself in the Silverlake hills.  However, arguably, Neutra's most widely recognized project was the Kauffman House (1946) built in Palm Springs.  In addition to homes, Neutra designed many distinguished public buildings including the Los Angeles Hall of Records (1961-2).  Neutra died in adopted home of Los Angeles April 10, 1970.  Though Neutra’s professional legacy is preserved in public collections, archives and extensive publications examples of his freehand renderings and presentation materials in private collections are rare.