When Austrian architect Richard Neutra arrived in the United States in 1923, he discovered a land whose skyscrapers, advanced technology, and most significant cutting-edge architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, already had cast a spell on Europeans.

After working on the Palmer House hotel in Chicago for Holabird and Roche, he moved to Los Angeles in 1925. Neutra became a frequent contributor to German-language architecture publications, Das Neue Frankfurt and Die Form. Besides providing income, his journalism enabled him to present his designs and ideas to a European readership. In 1925, the head of the Bauhaus, Walter Gropius, published his rendering of an office building in International Architecture, the influential first volume in its book series. Beginning with the Jardinette Apartments of 1927, Neutra increasingly came to the attention of his colleagues abroad. Gropius and his wife marveled at it during their visit to Los Angeles in 1928.

Neutra’s two books, How Does America Build? (1927) and America: The Formation of the Style of Modern Architecture in the United States (1930) further consolidated his reputation. The latter’s iconic cover was designed by El Lissitzky, a leading figure in Soviet avant-garde art and design. In it, Neutra published a construction photo of the Lovell Health House (1929), often regarded as his finest achievement. Alongside his brilliance as a designer, Neutra possessed a shrewd understanding of photography and publicity that culminated in the publication of the house in architecture publications in 11 languages and its becoming a global Modernist icon.

Edward Dimendberg is Professor of Humanities at the University of California, Irvine. His most recent book is Richard Neutra and the Making of the Lovell Health House 1925-35 (London and Los Angeles: Lund Humphries and Getty Research Institute, 2026).

A book signing will follow the presentation.