Richard Neutra: And The Search for Modern Architecture [Hardcover]

Thomas S. Hines (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 31, 2006

Richard Neutra's work, his life experience, and his search for modern architecture coincided neatly with the lifespan of the modern movement. He experienced the buoyant struggles of the movement's early years, the heady triumph of its mid-century ascendancy, and the critique it faced in the 1960s and 1970s. His reputation enjoyed a resurgence that was hard to predict when Richard Neutra and the Search for Modern Architecture was first published over twenty years ago. In his seminal critical biography of this modernist master, Thomas S. Hines explores the efforts of Neutra and his modernist contemporaries to find the forms that would be most expressive of the twentieth century. In researching this classic of architectural scholarship, Hines enjoyed unparalleled access to the Neutra archives. Its collection of outstanding black-and-white photography includes a remarkable cache of photographs taken by Julius Shulman-the undisputed master of twentieth-century architectural photography-whose work is beautifully featured here. This revised edition of Richard Neutra includes a new introduction by the author. "This study, part biography, part architectural analysis, is a modern masterpiece of architectural history. The prose is lucid and sometimes elegant-very much like the work of Richard Neutra which it so brilliantly examines." -Peter Gay

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Hines's approach to architectural history is that of social and historical interpretation. . . . [His] raconteurial gifts make this the most eminently readable architectural biography in recent years. But his firm command of the documentary material both archival and public, written and oral on Neutra's life and career gives the narrative a convincing authority." -- Martin Filler, Art in America

"Hines's book is a sensitive, forthright and eloquently written tribute to Neutra, written with admiration but without illusion." -- Paul Goldberger, New York Times Book Review

"One of the striking virtues of Hines' study is that it gives due attention to Neutra's family, his upbringing, his education, and -- something we still lack for many of his contemporaries (his experience in the First World War and its disastrous aftermath. . . . Whether Neutra's star is in the ascendant or in decline, Hines follows him step by step, patiently, shrewdly, judiciously, revealingly." (Reyner Banham, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

"This study, part biography and part architectural analysis, is a modern masterpiece of architectural history. The prose is lucid and sometimes elegant--very much like the work of Richard Neutra which it so brilliantly examines."--Peter Gay, Yale University

"An important contribution to the understanding of 'modernist' culture in the United States and a perceptive analysis of the achievement of a major American architect, with a European background and an international reputation."--William Jordy, Brown University

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli; 4th edition (January 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847827631
• ISBN-13: 978-0847827633
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 1.4 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,362,276 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars novel or document? December 9, 2001

By J. A. Hoedemaker

Format:Paperback

to an architect the purpose of this book is unclear. The subject is an architect with an extremely interesting life, who designed very interesting buildings. The subtitle of the book gives us the impression that the book is about architecture. In reality it only gives us a very poor impression of the buildings designed by Neutra: only very small pictures are displayed of what he designed. family snap-shots on the other hand, are everywhere and in larger sizes.
Of course this can be a purpose of the writer. However, the uncritical way and blind admiration for Neutra makes the book boring to read and tiresome.
I suggest that anyone that is interested in the works of Neutra buy another book, with better, and more pictures of his buildings and floor plans to go with them. His buildings deserve it.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overall view of Neutra's work and his life story. October 23, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

The classic Neutra companion; very informative. Although I would have liked to have seen current color photographs of the great RJN's work along with the extensive B&W ones (actually I believe a volume of that nature is in the works), this retrospective is nonetheless very broad in its scope and has many interesting stories about the building of the structures during Neutra's life. Also contains a complete list of his buildings and houses, along with locations and dates of construction.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars THE GREAT NEUTRA March 2, 2007

By Shannon Deason

Format:Hardcover

This book is the benchmark on Richard Neutra's work, it's thorough, has wonderful, vivid images, and the text is scholarly, but easy to read. I have always been a huge fan of Mr. Neutra's work, it is so clean, open, and modern. His buildings really fit Southern California perfect, the sunshine and the dry ocean breezes meld well with his modern asthetic. If you have any interest in Moderne architecture or are just a fan of the singular Mr. Neutra, then I highly recommend this book.