Julius Shulman died at 98
Legendary photographer Julius Shulman, whose iconic images defined the architecture of the modernist era, has died at the age of 98.
A resident of Los Angeles since 1920, Julius Shulman documented modernist architecture in Southern California and across the globe for nearly eight decades. His images of Pierre Koenig's Case Study House No. 22 (1960) in Los Angeles and Richard J. Neutra's Kaufmann House (1947) in Palm Springs are among the most recognizable and iconic architectural photographs of the 20th century. Shulman's interest in photography developed into a career when he photographed Neutra's Kun Residence in Los Angeles with his Kodak Vestpocket camera in 1936. Neutra admired young Shulman's images and continued to commission his work. Other leading architects of the time followed suit, as did hundreds of magazines, newspapers, and book publishers. Shulman's numerous awards include the Architectural Photography Medal from the American Institute of Architects (1969), a lifetime achievement award from the International Center of Photography in New York (1998), and honorary doctorates from various academic institutions. He died on July 15 and is survived by his daughter, Judy McKee, and grandson, Timothy, both of Santa Barbara.
"Julius Shulman was one of the greatest photographers and image makers of the 20th century. Even in a biblical age he was an inspiration for generations of admirers, fans and friends. His house was open for everyone and thousands of pilgrims from all over the world came to see him, the man who created the visual memory of Modernism. He was a generous, kind and caring human being with a memory sharp as the latest generation of computers, recalling every trip he made and every photograph he took. I loved this man and I was blessed to have him as my friend and as a TASCHEN artist."
—Benedikt Taschen
The Living Memory of Modernism
I first saw Julius Shulman’s photographs, almost half a century after they had been taken, in one of our own books, Architecture of the 20th Century. This book was published at the beginning of the 1990s and soon became one of our most important titles. The Shulman photographs—though diverse in their subject matter—stood out so clearly from all the others that I had only to flip through the book a second time to immediately identify them. I was fascinated by the clarity of the composition in his pictures. The exposure was perfect and the staging dramatic—like in a Hollywood movie—with the architecture itself playing the leading role. It became the object of desire and the projection of a better world. Moreover, unlike most architectural photography until then, some of Shulman’s best photographs featured “real” human beings. This was big news.
Back to Hollywood and the year 1994: I thought, this is a man I would like to meet, and so one morning I gave him a call. A friendly voice answered the phone. I introduced myself and he invited me to his studio. Julius Shulman, 84 years old at the time, sat at a desk piled high with letters and magazines. He gave me the warmest welcome and showed me around his archives in the back of the studio. Suddenly the term “vintage” acquired a whole new dimension for me, epitomized by the personality of this man. I asked what he was working on and he produced an extensive manuscript: his autobiography. I inquired whether he had already found the right publisher and when his reply was no I suggested that now he had.
One year later, we published Julius’s hugely successful autobiography and followed up with monographs on Neutra, the Case Study Houses, and a volume on forgotten masters of modern architecture, Modernism Rediscovered. Meanwhile I also became Julius’s neighbor in the Hollywood Hills (his beautiful steel and beam house built by Soriano is right on the other side of the hills where my own house is located). I began to systematically work my way through his archives, looking at every single contact sheet, photograph, slide, and transparency, the output of over 6,000 assignments since the year 1936. His archive, totally undigitized, was in perfect order, and it was extremely easy to find what I was looking for. But what was even more interesting for me was to find buildings I was not looking for, for the simple reason that I did not even know they existed. And Julius, from his studio next door, was perfectly able to give me detailed answers to all my questions about the buildings, the architects, designers, clients, and even the people in the pictures. It didn’t make a difference if the photograph was from Palm Springs in 1945, Tel Aviv in 1961, or Puerto Vallarta in 1975. Julius’s memory was just extraordinary: It was as precise as a computer of gigantic proportions.
It took almost five years until I had dug out the last picture from his archive, with Julius giving detailed comments on my selection. Not only did I have the unique privilege to work with unequaled photographic material, which, for the most part, was in mint condition and offered pristine color. I also had the pleasure of receiving first-hand information on every single image. Working on this set of books—which actually was more fun, than work—seemed like taking a time capsule back to the beginnings of modernism in the 1930s through the 1970s, with Julius being the commander in chief Captain Kirk. I am profoundly grateful for his input and his tireless support, but most of all for his friendship. I hope that these three volumes will contribute to getting the numerous architects and designers, unknown to the masses and working in shadows of their famous colleagues, the recognition they deserve.
—Benedikt Taschen, Publisher
Excerpted from Modernism Rediscovered, 3 Volumes
Julius Shulman, Modernism Rediscovered, 3 Vols.
Julius Shulman, Modernism Rediscovered
The Shulman Portfolios No 1 - 12
A resident of Los Angeles since 1920, Julius Shulman documented modernist architecture in Southern California and across the globe for nearly eight decades. His images of Pierre Koenig's Case Study House No. 22 (1960) in Los Angeles and Richard J. Neutra's Kaufmann House (1947) in Palm Springs are among the most recognizable and iconic architectural photographs of the 20th century. Shulman's interest in photography developed into a career when he photographed Neutra's Kun Residence in Los Angeles with his Kodak Vestpocket camera in 1936. Neutra admired young Shulman's images and continued to commission his work. Other leading architects of the time followed suit, as did hundreds of magazines, newspapers, and book publishers. Shulman's numerous awards include the Architectural Photography Medal from the American Institute of Architects (1969), a lifetime achievement award from the International Center of Photography in New York (1998), and honorary doctorates from various academic institutions. He died on July 15 and is survived by his daughter, Judy McKee, and grandson, Timothy, both of Santa Barbara.
"Julius Shulman was one of the greatest photographers and image makers of the 20th century. Even in a biblical age he was an inspiration for generations of admirers, fans and friends. His house was open for everyone and thousands of pilgrims from all over the world came to see him, the man who created the visual memory of Modernism. He was a generous, kind and caring human being with a memory sharp as the latest generation of computers, recalling every trip he made and every photograph he took. I loved this man and I was blessed to have him as my friend and as a TASCHEN artist."
—Benedikt Taschen
The Living Memory of Modernism
I first saw Julius Shulman’s photographs, almost half a century after they had been taken, in one of our own books, Architecture of the 20th Century. This book was published at the beginning of the 1990s and soon became one of our most important titles. The Shulman photographs—though diverse in their subject matter—stood out so clearly from all the others that I had only to flip through the book a second time to immediately identify them. I was fascinated by the clarity of the composition in his pictures. The exposure was perfect and the staging dramatic—like in a Hollywood movie—with the architecture itself playing the leading role. It became the object of desire and the projection of a better world. Moreover, unlike most architectural photography until then, some of Shulman’s best photographs featured “real” human beings. This was big news.
Back to Hollywood and the year 1994: I thought, this is a man I would like to meet, and so one morning I gave him a call. A friendly voice answered the phone. I introduced myself and he invited me to his studio. Julius Shulman, 84 years old at the time, sat at a desk piled high with letters and magazines. He gave me the warmest welcome and showed me around his archives in the back of the studio. Suddenly the term “vintage” acquired a whole new dimension for me, epitomized by the personality of this man. I asked what he was working on and he produced an extensive manuscript: his autobiography. I inquired whether he had already found the right publisher and when his reply was no I suggested that now he had.
One year later, we published Julius’s hugely successful autobiography and followed up with monographs on Neutra, the Case Study Houses, and a volume on forgotten masters of modern architecture, Modernism Rediscovered. Meanwhile I also became Julius’s neighbor in the Hollywood Hills (his beautiful steel and beam house built by Soriano is right on the other side of the hills where my own house is located). I began to systematically work my way through his archives, looking at every single contact sheet, photograph, slide, and transparency, the output of over 6,000 assignments since the year 1936. His archive, totally undigitized, was in perfect order, and it was extremely easy to find what I was looking for. But what was even more interesting for me was to find buildings I was not looking for, for the simple reason that I did not even know they existed. And Julius, from his studio next door, was perfectly able to give me detailed answers to all my questions about the buildings, the architects, designers, clients, and even the people in the pictures. It didn’t make a difference if the photograph was from Palm Springs in 1945, Tel Aviv in 1961, or Puerto Vallarta in 1975. Julius’s memory was just extraordinary: It was as precise as a computer of gigantic proportions.
It took almost five years until I had dug out the last picture from his archive, with Julius giving detailed comments on my selection. Not only did I have the unique privilege to work with unequaled photographic material, which, for the most part, was in mint condition and offered pristine color. I also had the pleasure of receiving first-hand information on every single image. Working on this set of books—which actually was more fun, than work—seemed like taking a time capsule back to the beginnings of modernism in the 1930s through the 1970s, with Julius being the commander in chief Captain Kirk. I am profoundly grateful for his input and his tireless support, but most of all for his friendship. I hope that these three volumes will contribute to getting the numerous architects and designers, unknown to the masses and working in shadows of their famous colleagues, the recognition they deserve.
—Benedikt Taschen, Publisher
Excerpted from Modernism Rediscovered, 3 Volumes
Julius Shulman, Modernism Rediscovered, 3 Vols.
Julius Shulman, Modernism Rediscovered
The Shulman Portfolios No 1 - 12
1. Julius Shulman with his Sinar camera, Los Angeles, 2007. Photo (c) Gerard Smulevich
2. On the occasion of the publication of Neutra: Complete Works in 2000, 64 years after the architect gave Shulman his first assignment. Photo Benedikt Taschen
3. Julius Shulman in his studio, 1998. Photo Benedikt Taschen
4. Julius Shulman visits his friend, publisher, and neighbor, Benedikt Taschen, Los Angeles, 2005. Photo (c) Eric Kroll
5. Julius Shulman and Benedikt Taschen at the launch of Modernism Rediscovered, 3 Volumes, Beverly Hills, 2007. Photo TASCHEN
6. Julius Shulman, Stahl Residence (Case Study House #22), Los Angeles, California, 1960 Pierre Koenig, Architect. Photo (c) J. Paul Getty Trust
7. Julius Shulman, Kaufmann Residence, Palm Springs, 1947 Richard Neutra, Architect. Photo (c) J. Paul Getty Trust
8. Julius Shulman, Malin Residence ("Chemosphere" House), Los Angeles, California, 1961 John Lautner, Architect. Photo (c) J. Paul Getty Trust