February 2009

Editor's Letter

This month — our annual Modernism Issue — we celebrate three masters of modernism: Krisel, Charles Hollis Jones, and Karl Benjamin. Each has had a foundational impact on modern design, and each...

By Steven Biller

Masters of Modernism — The Butterfly Effect

William Krisel wants to clear up a misconception. “Whenever people see a house with a butterfly roof,” the 84-year architect says, “they think that I designed it.” But, he adds, “It’s...

By Morris Newman

Masters of Modernism — Now Clear This!

Like he does with his material of choice, Charles Hollis Jones reshapes himself. At 63, the iconic virtuoso of transparent plastic resin furniture has embarked on a series of chairs, four-poster...

By Morris Newman

Masters of Modernism — The Accidental Modernist

From his favored chair in the living room of his midcentury modern house in Claremont, Karl Benjamin can see through the backyard atrium into his studio. Behind a wall of glass, the bright colors...

By Steven Biller

Mission: Mud House

The Coachella Valley once was dotted with hundreds of adobe houses, but most have washed away, collapsed, or been bulldozed. In recent months, some classics were slated for demolition. But...

By Ann Japenga

Daring Design

An apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright early in his career, John Lautner eschewed the cool, severe geometry of his midcentury minimalist peers. Instead, he spent a lifetime as an iconoclast,...

By Allison Engel

Wealth — Modernism as an Investment

Eric Ellenbogen spent two years painstakingly restoring the William Cody-designed midcentury modern Abernathy House. “This restoration was both a labor of love and insanity. Yet I would do it...

By Ellen Paris

Marques of Distinction

Ken Smith, a Rancho Santa Fe resident, is more than a car enthusiast. He is driven by the spirit of competition and has entered his cherished dark blue car in the inaugural Desert Classic Concours...

Story and photos by Gregg Felsen

Wheels — Hit the Switch

Ignore people who say now is no time to buy a sports car. It is exactly the time, especially if the dealer throws in a four-door luxury sedan for free. Sounds crazy, but that’s what all BMW...

By Pat Devereux

PSST! — Modern Love

Joan and Gary Gand founded the appreciation organization Chicago Bauhaus and Beyond and attended modernism shows in the Windy City before they heard about Palm Springs’ modernism show. Having...

By Janice Kleinschmidt

PSST! — Cody's Enlightened Side

Built for $382,000, St. Theresa’s Church was designed by one of its earliest parishioners: architect William F. Cody. These days, midcentury modernism expert Robert Imber includes the building on...

By Janice Kleinschmidt

PSST! — Tour de Force

Natural light floods Jean Carrus’ residence by home designer Guy Dreier. The glass-and-stone structure contrasts with yet complements Carrus’ collection of Western and Indian art, while lake...

By Janice Kleinschmidt

PSST! — Intelligencer

Palm Springs Art Museum, Opera Showcase of the Desert, Happy Chickadee, Kraft Nabisco Championship Celebrity Pro-Am, Copley's on Palm Canyon, Teco Pottery, Mel Haber, Les Dames D'Escoffier.

Galleries — Have It Your Way

Known for applying thick layers of paint like so much icing on the cakes and desserts that made his still-life paintings famous, Wayne Thiebaud (born 1920) occupies a populist place in American art...

By Steven Biller

In Store — Ode to Architecture

Architectural giants have produced furniture and accessories so that even if your house wasn’t designed by someone with a big name, you can have something inside it with their name attached.

By Sarah Reiss

Wine — Red, White, and Green

About the time you think you understand what is (or, more to the point, what is not) involved in organic agriculture, you start hearing about biodynamic and sustainable growing. Good luck if...

By Janice Kleinschmidt

PSST! — Mamma Mia! This is a Symphony?

On Feb. 11, Desert Symphony celebrates its 20th anniversary at McCallum Theatre with The Music of ABBA. “Everything you know from the musical and movie, we’ll be doing,” Maestro Edwin...

By Scott Brassart

Horoscope February 2009

Ah, Aquarians. Intellectually social, you can be found in group after group, wherever you can increase your understanding of the human condition. You represent the next 2,000 years, when the...

By Sherryl Nova