The Kaufmann House featured on moderndallas.net

THE KAUFFMAN HOUSE

"A SEMINAL MODERNIST MASTERPIECE"

Kaufmann House on the night of Christie’s New York May 13 Spring 2008 Post-War and Christie’s
Realty International, Inc. is delighted to announce the sale of Richard Neutra’s seminal
Kaufmann House on the night of Christie’s New York May 13 Spring 2008 Post-War and
Contemporary Art Evening sale. Along with Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House and Philip
Christie’s Realty International, Inc. is delighted to announce the sale of Richard Neutra’s seminal
Johnson’s Glass House, Neutra’s Kaufmann House is one of the most important examples of
modernist residential architecture in the Americas and remains singular as the most important
example of mid-century modernist architecture in the Americas to remain in private hands. It
carries an estimate of $15,000,000 to $25,000,000.

In 1946, the Pittsburgh department
store magnate, Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr.,
who had previously commissioned
Frank Lloyd Wright to build Fallingwater,
engaged Richard Neutra to build a
house in the Palm Springs desert
as a winter retreat for his wife and him.

Representing the purest realization
of Neutra's modernist ideals, the
Kaufmann House's rigorously disciplined
design scheme integrates horizontal
planes of cantilevered roofs under
which blocks of glass floor-to-ceiling
sliding walls shimmer.

Set against the rugged backdrop of a
mountainous landscape in the Palm
Springs desert and positioned in an
equally minimalist paradise of manicured
lawns, placed boulders and plantings,
this modernist icon represents the
culmination of Neutra'shighly influential
achievement and contribution to
architectural history.

When the current owners of this house acquired it in 1993, they were confronted with a
radically altered structure than that which had originally been conceived by Neutra. A
number of owners subsequent to Kaufmann, including the singer Barry Manilow, had added
onto the house, and in the process had buried Neutra’s original architectural plan.

which the current owners, in collaboration with the Santa Monica architecture firm Marmol
& Radziner, returned the house to its original condition. The project consisted of a forensic
study into the original conception of the house, and the integrity of the restoration that
ensued is unparalleled. For example, in order to restore portions of the exterior as well as the
fireplace surrounds, both which were originally made from Utah sandstone, a rock quarry in
Utah that had not been used since the 1940s was reopened so that the precise color of the
stone, used for these architectural components, could be matched.

The restoration of the Kaufmann House was the first of its kind to be conducted in such a
manner, and resulted in an extraordinary public awareness of the important influence that
mid-century modern design has played in architectural history. Neutra houses, previously
often bought as teardowns for their land value, are now viewed as seminal cultural products
to be preserved and restoredto their original integrity. Architectural firms, contractors,
academics and many other professionals specializing in the restoration and preservation of
mid-century modern architecture have emerged as a result of the phenomena.

resource:

The Kaufmann House will be offered
for sale at auction in New York
exclusively by Christie's Realty
International, Inc. Christie's Great
Estates, Inc. is cooperating with
Christie's Realty International, Inc.
and is the exclusive selling agent in
California. Christie's Realty
International, Inc is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Christie's. Please direct
all inquiries to 212.468.7113 or
kaufmannhouse@christies.com

www.christies.com

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