Julius Shulman

Julius Shulman’s distinguished career began in 1936 when a chance meeting with a young associate of architect Richard Neutra led Shulman to photograph a newly completed house in the Hollywood Hills. From then until the mid-1980’s he completed over six thousand assignments. Shulman, more than any other photographer, is responsible for documenting the development of West Coast Modern architecture and as such he has worked with most of the leading architects and designers of the period including; Neutra, Frank Lloyd Wright, Rudolf Schindler, Raphael Soriano, Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, Pierre Koenig, Mies van der Rohe, Albert Frey and Bruce Goff. His photographs have appeared in countless magazines and books on Modernist architecture and his work has been the subject of several monographs. During the fifties and sixties John Entenza, publisher and editor of Arts and Architecture initiated the Case Study House Program to promote innovative modular, steel-framed, flat-roofed houses. Shulman photographed fifteen Studies, and from these the nocturnal image of Koenig’s “Case Study #22” has become one of Shulman’s most recognized and sought after photographs.

Aside from his considerable contribution to architectural history, Shulman’s talent as an innovative and gifted photographer must be acknowledged. Through his skillful understanding of light, and keen sense of composition and structure, combined with his deep appreciation of his subject, he succeeded in bringing the documentation of Modern architecture to life. He captured the essence of the movement and gave us the opportunity to experience it through his work. Julius Shulman’s extraordinary legacy is a wealth of remarkable images, whose careful construction and attention to detail allow us access to this important history.