PALM SPRINGS, CA.- No single person has more thoroughly documented the evolution of modern architecture in Southern California than acclaimed photographer Julius Shulman. From February 15 to May 4, 2008, the Palm Springs Art Museum will present Julius Shulman: Palm Springs, an exhibition showcasing the artist’s singular record of the modern architectural movement in Palm Springs, from its beginnings 70 years ago to the present day.

The spectacular desert landscape has provided inspiration to many significant architects—pioneers like Richard Neutra, A. Quincy Jones, Paul Williams, John Lautner, and Albert Frey—who developed a unique architectural style during the Southern California Mid-Century Modern movement. Julius Shulman succeeded in capturing the dramatic architectural elements and the relationship of light and structure that have made so many of these buildings iconic.

Julius Shulman: Palm Springs presents 150 photographs, as well as renderings and models of locations by renowned architects including Neutra, Jones, Williams, Lautner, Frey, William F. Cody, Donald Wexler, and Palmer & Krisel. The exhibition includes photographs from the collections of the Palm Springs Art Museum and the Getty Museum, as well as private collections. Among the featured works are images of Richard Neutra’s Palm Springs masterpiece, the Kaufmann House—the desert’s counterpart to Frank Lloyd Wright’s fallingwater—E. Stewart Williams' Twin Palms House for Frank Sinatra, and Paul Williams' home for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, as well as 18 new color photographs by Shulman commissioned by the Palm Springs Art Museum in 2007 and presented for the first time in this exhibition. Julius Shulman: Palm Springs was organized by the Palm Springs Art Museum and guest curator Michael Stern. A stunning book published by Rizzoli International and co-authored by Stern and architectural historian Alan Hess will accompany the exhibition.

“It is exciting to bring together both celebrated, vintage works and new color photographs from Julius Shulman’s 70-year documentation of modern architecture in the Palm Springs area,” said Steven Nash, Director of the Palm Springs Art Museum. “Shulman captured the magic of Southern California architecture, through the interplay of landscape, light, and design. This comprehensive survey will bring his achievement to new audiences nationwide.”

“Julius Shulman is undeniably one of the world’s greatest architectural photographers,” added exhibition curator Michael Stern. “His work has touched people who are not particularly attuned to architecture, and at 97 years old, he continues to gain worldwide recognition and fuel the incredible resurgence of interest in Modernism that we’ve seen in recent years.”

Throughout his career, Shulman has been known for his ability to capture an architect’s intent, resulting in architectural photographs of great beauty and emotional power. As Stern noted, “Among his most indelible images is the 1960 photograph of Case Study House Number 22 designed by Pierre Koenig–an image that has transcended the ranks of architectural photography to become a veritable symbol for the modern lifestyle that characterizes the city of Los Angeles. Similarly, Shulman’s depiction of Richard Neutra’s Kaufmann House goes beyond documentation, becoming an informed study of the importance of light in modernist architecture.”

The newly-commissioned color works by Shulman capture a new group of architectural masterpieces in the Palm Springs area. They represent a significant addition to the Palm Springs Art Museum’s growing photography collection and exhibitions program, which plans to launch a new Photography Council this year. Upcoming photography exhibitions include a monographic exhibition on the portraiture of Robert Mapplethorpe scheduled for 2009.