Please join Modernism Week for a special dedication on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars for Liliane & Edgar Kaufmann, Sr., original owners of the Richard Neutra-designed Desert House. This ceremony is a tribute to the Kaufmanns who were prominent US industrialists, tastemakers and great architectural patrons of Modernism in Palm Springs.
Special guests, historians and friends of the Kaufmann Desert House will speak about the family’s importance and legacy in Palm Springs. This event is open to the public and will take place at the Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center, Edwards Harris Pavilion. Please note that seating is limited for this outdoor event.
Liliane and Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr. helped shape the course of American Modernism through their patronage of two landmark works of 20th-century architecture: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater in Pennsylvania and Richard Neutra’s Kaufmann Desert House in Palm Springs. While Fallingwater is celebrated for its dramatic integration with the natural landscape of the East, the Kaufmann Desert House established a distinctly Southern California expression of Modern living, responding to the desert’s light, climate, mountains and expansive landscape. Completed in 1947, the Desert House became one of Palm Springs’ most important architectural landmarks and a defining influence on the city’s Modernist identity, helping establish Palm Springs as an internationally recognized destination for Modern architecture and design. Together, Fallingwater and the Kaufmann Desert House represent two transformative chapters in American Modernism, while the Desert House holds a particularly enduring place in the architectural history and cultural legacy of Palm Springs.