Julius Shulman

Julius Shulman (1910-2009) and his family moved to California from a small Connecticut farm in at the age of ten. His career as an architectural photographer began in 1936 when he showed Richard Neutra some photographs he had made of the architect's Kun Residence in Los Angeles. Neutra liked the images and asked Shulman to photograph more of his houses for him. Ultimately, Shulman photographed most of Richard Neutra's work and was introduced to other modernist architects working in Southern California. His extraordinary client list eventually included: Charles and Ray Eames, Raphael Soriano, John Lautner, Pierre Koenig, Rudolf Schindler, Frank Lloyd Wright, and hundreds of others. Shulman did not merely document significant architecture, but interpreted it, becoming one of the most important and influential architectural photographers in history. In fact, when most people think of the work of Neutra, it is Shulman's images that come to mind. As Neutra said, "His work will survive me. Film is stronger and good glossy prints are easier to ship than brute concrete, stainless steel, or even ideas." Shulman retired from active architectural work in 1989. His photographs continue to appear in hundreds of magazines and books, as well as several recent monographs that have received critical attention. Among his honors, Shulman is the only photographer to have been granted honorary lifetime membership in the American Institute of Architects. In 1998 he was given a lifetime achievement award by ICP.