ldpd_15003427Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP collection of Ezra Stoller photographs15003427Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library

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This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-09 10:23:16 -0400.Description is written in: English, Latin script. Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP collection of Ezra Stoller photographs Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Stoller, Ezra 15003427 English . 140 albums 20 items 1940-1970 Content Description

The collection consists of approximately 140 bound albums of photography by Ezra Stoller featuring buildings and interiors designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM) and a small collection of project records. Projects represented include, among others, Albright Knox Art Gallery, American Republic Insurance Company, Banque Lambert, Beineck Library, Chase Manhattan Bank, Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, Ford Motor Company, HJ Heinz Research Center, John Hancock Building, Lever House, Lyndon Baines Johnson Library, and US Airforce Academy.

Biographical / Historical

Founded in 1936, Skidmore, Ownings, & Merrill (SOM) pioneered modern architecture – in form, materials, and construction processes – in the United States, ultimately becoming one of the largest and most prolific international firms in history. Ezra Stoller was SOM's preferred architecture photographer for nearly forty years, from shortly after the firm was founded until Stoller's retirement c. 1980. Long-time head of design, Gordon Bunshaft, had a special relationship with Stoller and described the photographer's role at SOM as integral to the firm. Stoller photographed drawings, models, and completed buildings. The bulk of the photographs in the collection date from the 1950s and 1960s, SOM's period of high modernism, and include many of SOM's renowned buildings, such as Lever House , New York; Manufacturers Trust, New York; Chase Manhattan, New York; Union Carbide Headquarters, New York; and Pepsi Cola, New York. These albums form an important visual collection of SOM's work and were used for internal reference, for publicity, and shown to prospective clients.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is available for use by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For further information, please email avery-drawings@library.columbia.edu.

Related Materials

Avery Drawings & Archives collections from S.O.M. or an architect from S.O.M. include:

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill photographs, 1945-1969. [Includes many photographs by Ezra Stoller]

Lever House architectural drawings, 1950-1953.

Gordon Bunshaft architectural drawings and papers, 1909-1990.

William S. Brown manuscript on Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 1979 - 1983.

Office Building for Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation : proposal / Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 1956.

Related Materials

Avery Drawings & Archives collections that include material for S.O.M. projects:

Theodore Conrad papers, 1937-1991.. [Architectural model maker; the collection includes photographs 25 S.O.M. projects, dating 1957 to 1965.]

Louis Checkman negatives photographs and papers, 1955-1992. [Architectural model photographer; the collection includes photographs and negatives for 17 S.O.M. projects, dating from 1955-1980.]

Jock Pottle photographs and negatives, 1970s-2000s.

Joseph W. Molitor architectural photographs, 1935-1985. [Architectural photographer; the collection includes images for 15 S.O.M. projects.]

George Cserna photographs and papers, 1937-1978. [Architectural photographer; the collection includes images for 7 S.O.M. projects.]

Horst Hermann architectural drawings, 1949-1988.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was donated by S.O.M. in 2020 (Accession 2020.001)

Architectural design -- History -- 20th century. Architectural models Architecture -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Pictorial works Architectural photography Architectural firms -- New York (State) -- New York black-and-white photographs Photograph albums Bunshaft, Gordon, 1909-1990 Conrad, Theodore, 1910-1994 Series I: Ezra Stoller PhotographsScope and Contents

This series is made up of 138 albums with photographs by Ezra Stoller. Stoller was the preferred photographer of the New York office of Skidmore Ownings & Merrill. Stoller's work for S.O.M. ranged from model photography to interior and exterior shots of completed projects. The photo albums were likely created by S.O.M. for client presentations and for staff reference.

Subseries 1: Project Albums (arranged by location)Scope and Contents

This subseries consists of 132 albums of black and white photographs by Ezra Stoller for major works done by the New York office of S.O.M. during the period of the early 1950s to the late 1960s. There are few projects represented that were designed by either the Chicago or San Francisco office. The albums are arranged beginning with non-U.S. projects followed by U.S. projects listed alphabetically by state and city.

INTERNATIONALBanque Lambert (Brussels, Belgium). Volume I7FC1231042Scope and Contents