G.E. Kidder Smith Builds: The Travel of Architectural Photography

DOCOMOMO US/New York Tri-State presents a virtual program coinciding with the recent publication of G.E. Kidder Smith Builds: The Travel of Architectural Photography (ORO Editions) written by Angelo Maggi with foreword by Michelangelo Sabatino. This is the first book to examine the multifaceted and lengthy career of the New York-based G. E. (George Everard) Kidder Smith (1913–1997), best known for his popular and influential publications, such as Sweden Builds (1950), Italy Builds (1955), and the monumental three-volume The Architecture of the United States (1981), many of which documented Modern architecture.

Angelo Maggi and Michelangelo Sabatino will discuss G. E. Kidder Smith’s distinctive contribution to North American architectural photography and advocacy in the second half of the twentieth century. Although he trained as an architect, he chose not to practice within the conventional strictures of an architecture office. Instead, Kidder Smith “designed,” researched, wrote, and photographed a remarkably diverse collection of books about architecture and the built environment. In addition to publishing books, curating exhibitions early in his career, teaching occasionally (MIT, Yale), and appearing on television (“An Architectural Odyssey” in 1978), other lasting contributions include his preservation activism. Maggi and Sabatino will be joined by Neil Donnelly who will discuss the design of Kidder Smith’s books and how they informed the graphic design strategy for the new publication.