Probably no other photographer had as much an impact on presenting -- even selling -- Mid-Century Modern architecture than did Julius Shulman, who died Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 98.
1960
Case Study House #22
Julius Shulman / Getty Images
Among the many photographs taken by Shulman were projects by the likes of Richard Neutra, Rudolf M. Schindler, Charles Eames, Albert Frey, Pierre Koenig, Eero Saarinen, A. Quincy Jones, John Lautner and Frank Lloyd Wright.
Although the majority of his work was in B&W, Shulman's mastery of light, shadows and contrasts invoked a sense of color in his images, many of which showcased the post-war, modern designs emerging throughout Southern California (especially in Los Angeles and Palm Springs -- including the famed Kaufmann House). His perception of angles and scene setting often added a softer human side to the starkness present in MCM designs.
Shulman's most famous photo was that of Pierre Koenig's, glass-walled, "Case Study House #22," (aka, The Stahl House), perched atop the Hollywood Hills overlooking the city lights of Los Angeles. Probably no single image captured the optimistic spirit of the "good life" as promised by America's sleek future as did this one photograph.
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