By Daryl Lang

The influential architectural photographer Julius Shulman, who found bright idealism in the cool lines of modernist buildings, died July 15 in Los Angeles. He was 98.

He died of old age, resting at the Hollywood Hills home built for him in 1950 by architect Raphael Soriano, according to his gallery representative, Craig Krull of the Craig Krull Gallery.

Shulman shot thousands of projects over his long career as a commercial architectural photographer. Later in his life, a revival of interest in modernism made his prints desirable to art collectors, and his work influenced a younger generation of fine art photographers.

In his 1998 book Julius Shulman: Architecture and Photography, he described an architecture photographer’s role as “to present the results of an architect’s design efforts to the world.”

“Whenever somebody would ask him if he considers himself a photographer, an artist or a visual historian, he would always say first and foremost he was a businessman,” recalls Christopher James Alexander, curator of Architecture and Design for the Getty Research Institute. “He took great pride in the way he ran his business.”

In 2005 the J. Paul Getty museum acquired Shulman’s archives, including 260,000 prints, negatives, transparencies and other images documenting over 7,000 different architectural projects. The Getty museum mounted a major exhibition of his work for his 95th birthday.

Born in 1910, Shulman spent his childhood on a farm in Connecticut. When he was 10, his family moved to Los Angeles. Shulman dabbled in photography in high school and while attending UCLA and UC Berkeley. But he identified March 15, 1936, as the day he became a professional photographer.

Shulman, the story goes, had moved back to Los Angeles and, through his sister, met an associate of architect Richard Neutra who was looking for a roommate. Invited to visit one of Neutra’s new homes, Shulman shot a few pictures using a Vest Pocket Kodak camera. He showed six prints to his friend and Neutra. Upon seeing the prints, Netura, who was famously picky with photographers, requested more copies, and asked Shulman to shoot more of his buildings.

Through Neutra, Shulman met Soriano and other notable California architects. His clients would include noted architects Rudolf M. Schindler, Gergory Ain, J.R. Davidson, Charles Eames, Frank Gehry, and Frank Lloyd Wright, among others.

One of Shulman's most famous images, “Case Study House No. 22,” shows a home built by Pierre Koenig as part of John Entenza’s design program. Shulman photographed 18 of the 26 Case Study Houses that were built as part of the project.

Like many of his photos, the idyllic night scene of “House No. 22” shows the interplay of people, architecture and nature, with two women talking inside the glass house jutting over Laurel Canyon.

“My secret was to look into the house x-ray-style from the outdoors,” Shulman said in a 2005 interview with PDN. “I told the girls to keep up their conversation, I’m going to flash the interior to balance the outdoors. Then, at an appropriate time when the girls were relaxed, I shot. One click of a shutter and that was it. That's all I needed.”

“Julius had an innate sense of optimism and positive spirit, which was very conducive to modernism,” says Krull.

In 1990, Shulman “retired” and became represented by Krull, who began marketing his prints as fine art. Until then, Shulman had been making prints on request and selling them at cost. (“They don't edition the Bible, do they?" he was known to say.)

His prints, reflecting the modernist ideals of post-War Los Angeles, were a hit with collectors. Krull introduced him to New York art dealer Yancey Richardson, and calls and requests came pouring in.

Late in his career, Shulman collaborated with photographer Juergen Nogai; the pair's work is on display now at the Craig Krull Gallery in Los Angeles.

Shulman was proud of keeping his archive in good order. In his 1998 book, Shulman wrote, “I am exceedingly happy with the ‘performance’ of my archives. But they function for a basic reason: they are 100% organized.”

An architecture photographer, he wrote, assumes a responsibility for recording the statements of the architects. “The mind, the dexterity, and the ability of the person with the camera can become the vehicle by which the image of architecture is transferred to the publications and people of the world.”

Related story
November 2, 2005: Julius Shulman: View from the Top