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.
The Richard Neutra papers contain one folder of black and white photographs of sketches by Neutra, but largely consists of articles and writings for his books.
Series I: Sketches are black and white photographs of sketches by Neutra depicting landscapes and buildings from travels.
Series II: Articles is the largest series and it consists of lectures at conferences and institutions, articles for various publications in magazines and journal, as well as selections and chapters for his books. Each folder is dedicated to one article, and the title for the folder comes from an enclosure list given to Avery Library at the time the collection was donated to Avery Library. The series covers all manner of topics from illumination,evolution, school design, the future of architecture, and the relationship of housing and democracy. Several of the articles are in German. In all likelihood the majority of the articles have been published elsewhere and there is little in the way of personal writing or notes.
1927-1978
This collection is arranged in two series: Series I: Sketches; Series II: Articles
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.
Permission to publish must be obtained in writing from the Director, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, 1172 Amsterdam Ave., MC 0301, New York, NY 10027.
Richard Joseph Neutra papers, 1927-1978. Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.
Jan De Graaff Residence architectural drawings and photographs, circa 1940s, Dept. of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library,Columbia University.
Richard J. Neutra / Kaufmann Desert House architectural drawings and photographs, Dept. of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.
Richard and Dion Neutra Papers, 1925-1970, UCLA Library, Charles E. Young Research Library Department of Special Collections.
Columbia University Libraries, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
This collection was processed by Rihoko Ueno (Archives Intern) under the guidance of Shelley Hayreh, Archivist of Drawings & Archives, Avery Library, in April 2011.
2011-04-07 File created.
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
Richard Joseph Neutra (April 8, 1892 – April 16, 1970) was an important modernist architect who helped introduce the International Style to the US. Neutra was born in Vienna and graduated from the Technical University of Vienna in 1917 where he studied under the tutelage of Adolf Loos and was influenced by Otto Wagner. He worked with architect Erich Mendelsohn in Berlin before moving to the US in 1923 and becoming a citizen in 1929. In 1924, Neutra briefly worked for Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin East.
Neutra designed office buildings, housing projects, churches, cultural centers and buildings for universities and colleges. Between 1927 and 1969, he designed more than 300 houses, mostly in California. His most famous works include the Lovell House in Los Angeles, the Kaufmann Desert House in Palm Springs, and the Tremaine House in Santa Barbara.
Biorealism, a term coined by Neutra, represented his belief that man and nature should exist in harmony and that architecture should bridge the two. Neutra was known to work closely with his clients in order to understand their needs, rather than imposing his vision. In 1966 he partnered with his son and founded Richard and Dion Neutra and Associates. His voluminous writings include many articles and three books, Survival Through Design (1954), Life and Human Habitat (1956), and his autobiography Life and Shape (1962).
Neutra died in Germany in 1970. His architectural firm is still operating in Los Angeles.
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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