PALM SPRINGS, CA.- No single person has been more present for the evolution of modern architecture in Southern California, with a special emphasis on Palm Springs, than the great photographer Julius Shulman. Sensitive to light, structure and detail, Shulman is known for capturing the essential elements of architecture that have turned many buildings into icons. Because of this, it is fitting that the Palm Springs Art Museum will debut the exhibition Julius Shulman / Palm Springs in February 2008—the same year that marks the Art Museum’s and the City of Palm Springs’ 70th Anniversary.

The exhibition Julius Shulman / Palm Springs will focus on Shulman’s extensive and historically lengthy (70 year) documentation of the modern architectural movement in the Palm Springs area. The spectacular desert landscape provided inspiration to numerous superb architects, whose vision and output created a unique architectural mode in the Southern California Mid-Century Modern movement; and Shulman made it his passion to document these buildings and homes. In fact, one of Shulman’s most famous photographs is of Richard Neutra’s masterpiece, The Kaufmann House (the Desert’s counterpart to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater), located in Palm Springs.

The exhibition will consist of approximately 150 photographs that include locations by renowned architects including Richard Neutra, A. Quincy Jones, Paul Williams, John Lautner, E. Stewart Williams, Albert Frey, William Cody, Donald Wexler, and Palmer & Krisel, among others. Additionally, renderings and models by these architects will highlight their unique contributions to the revered architectural landscape. The photos are compiled from the holdings of the Getty Museum and Palm Springs Art Museum, as well as private collections. The audience drawn to this blending ranges from those interested in architectural photography to mid-century modern architecture to fans of Palm Springs’ history, including its celebrity homes and celebrity architects.

“Also exciting are the new, original photographs that will be seen for the first time, which Shulman, now 96 years old, recently shot in the desert as a special commission for the Art Museum," says Exhibition Curator Michael Stern. “Julius photographed the remaining important architectural properties in the Palm Springs area and the excitement around those new works is already creating much anticipation.”

“To state that Julius Shulman is one of the greatest architectural photographers is actually an understatement,” explains Stern. “His work has reached such a critical mass of popularity that it touches people who are not typically architecturally aware. His narrative ability to tell the story of the architect’s intent is unequaled in the medium, and his photographs often stand apart from their subject matter as objects of great beauty and emotional power. As an example, his famous photograph of Case Study House Number 22 is more than a photograph of a Pierre Koenig building – it is, in fact, a portrait of the City of Los Angeles, highlighting its sheer improbability, as well as the cultural propensity toward pleasure. Similarly, his famed photograph of Richard Neutra’s Kaufmann House transcends the mere documentation of a house, and becomes an informed discussion of the beauty of the Palm Springs region, as well as its spectacular light and clarity. Shulman’s superlative skills in the documentary arena, as well as his ability to create work that moves beyond a documentary intent, is what has led to his massive worldwide recognition in recent years.” Rizzoli will be publishing the companion book to the exhibition, co-authored by Curator Michael Stern and Alan Hess.