The Kaufmann Desert House, or simply the Kaufmann House, is a house in Palm Springs, California, that was designed by architect Richard Neutra in 1946. It was commissioned by Edgar J. Kaufmann, Sr., a businessman who also commissioned

Fallingwater Fallingwater is a house designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in the Laurel Highlands of southwest Pennsylvania, about southeast of Pittsburgh in the United States. It is built partly over a waterfall on Bear Run in the Mill R ...

by Frank Lloyd Wright.Ho, Vivien (21 October 2020
Modernist architectural marvel made famous by Slim Aarons for sale for $25m
in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

. Retrieved 21 October 2020 The house has been described as "an architectural marvel that helped define the modernist aesthetic of the resort city of Palm Springs".Akkam, Alia (27 October 2020
For a Cool $25 Million, You Can Buy Richard Neutra’s Most Famous Palm Springs Home
in Dwell. Retrieved 29 October 2020 It is designated a Class 1 Historic Site by Palm Springs City Council.

History

The house was commissioned by Edgar J. Kaufmann, Sr., the owner of Kaufmann's Department Store in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, as a desert retreat from harsh winters. It was made famous by photographs taken by

Julius Shulman Julius Shulman (October 10, 1910 – July 15, 2009) was an American architectural photographer best known for his photograph " Case Study House #22, Los Angeles, 1960. Pierre Koenig, Architect." The house is also known as the Stahl House. Shulm ...

in 1947 and the 1970 photograph "Poolside Gossip" by

Slim Aarons Slim Aarons (born George Allen Aarons; October 29, 1916 – May 30, 2006) was an American photographer noted for his images of socialites, jet-setters and celebrities. His work principally appeared in ''Life'', '' Town & Country'', and ''Holiday' ...

.Wyatt, Edward (October 31, 2007
A Landmark Modernist House Heads to Auction
in

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

. Retrieved 29 October 2020 In 1935, Kaufmann had commissioned

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

to design

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. After Kaufmann died in 1955, the house stood vacant for several years. It then had a series of owners, including singer Barry Manilow and San Diego Chargers owner

Eugene V. Klein Eugene Victor Klein (January 29, 1921March 12, 1990) was an American businessman who was chairman of the board of directors and chief stockholder of National General Corporation, an insurance and entertainment company based in Los Angeles, Ca ...

,Avila, William (May 14, 2008
Kaufmann House sells for $15 million
in ''The Desert Sun''. Retrieved 29 October 2020 and had several renovations. These renovations enclosed a patio, added floral wallpaper to the bedrooms and removed a wall for the addition of a media room. The roof lines were also altered with the addition of air-conditioning units. After being listed for sale for 3½ years, the home was purchased in 1992 by Brent Harris, an investment manager, and his wife Beth Edwards Harris, an architectural historian, for $1.5 million. Seeking to restore the home to its original design, the Harris contacted

Marmol Radziner + Associates Marmol Radziner is a design-build practice based in Los Angeles that was founded in 1989 by American architects Leo Marmol and Ron Radziner. The firm specializes in residential, commercial, hospitality, cultural, and community projects, and offer ...

to undertake the five-year project, which began in 1993. For references, the Harrises looked through the extensive Neutra archives at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, found additional documents through

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, and were able to work with Shulman to access some of his unpublished photos of the home's interior. They were able to obtain pieces from the original suppliers of paint and fixtures, and purchased a metal-crimping machine to reproduce the sheet-metal fascia that originally lined the roof. The Harrises were also able to have a long-closed section of a

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

quarry reopened to mine matching stone to replace what had been removed or damaged. To help restore the desert buffer Neutra had envisioned for the house, the Harrises also bought several adjoining plots to more than double the land around the house. They rebuilt a pool house that served as a viewing pavilion for the main house, and kept a tennis court that was built on a parcel added to the original Kaufmann property. After the Harrises divorced, the home was sold on May 13, 2008, for US$15 million at auction by Christie's as a part of a high-profile sale of contemporary art. It had a presale estimate of US$15 million to US$25 million. The sale later fell through, as the bidder breached terms of the purchase agreement. In October 2008, the house was listed for sale at US$12.95 million, but it was not sold. It was again listed for sale in October 2020 at US$25 million. The Kaufmann house was included in a list of all-time top 10 houses in Los Angeles, despite its location in Palm Springs, in a ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' survey of experts in December 2008. The house was part of the decor of the 2022 film '' Don't Worry Darling''.

References

External links

'Poolside Gossip' by Slim Aarons
at Gettyimages. {{Authority control Richard Neutra buildings Houses completed in 1946 Modernist architecture in California International style architecture in California Buildings and structures in Palm Springs, California Historic sites in California Houses in Riverside County, California Restored and conserved buildings

History

References

Further reading

External links