Richard Neutra. Möbel

With his light-filled houses, Richard J. Neutra (1892–1970)—an American of Austrian descent—shaped the California modernist architectural scene and thus became one of the most important figures in the history of modern architecture. In stark contrast to his contemporaries, such as Aalto, Breuer, Jacobsen, and Prouvé, however, Neutra’s furniture designs remained largely overlooked for a long time. They only returned to the public consciousness when Dion Neutra—his son and business partner—began reproducing his father’s designs in collaboration with the specialty furniture manufacturer VS.

Barbara Lamprecht is an author and lecturer in architectural history, specializing in modernism. She is a practicing architect with a focus on sustainability. She writes for Dwell, The Architectural Review, Architecture, Architectural Record, and Fine Homebuilding.