Edgar Kaufmann, Jr.
| Edgar Kaufmann Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Edgar Jonas Kaufmann Jr. April 10, 1910 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Died | July 31, 1989 (aged 79) Manhattan, New York |
| Education | School for Arts and Crafts Taliesin East |
| Occupation | Architect, author |
| Partner(s) | Paul Mayén |
| Parent(s) |
Edgar J. Kaufmann Liliane S. Kaufmann |
Edgar Kaufmann Jr. (April 9, 1910 – July 31, 1989) was an American architect, lecturer, author, and an adjunct professor of architecture and art history at Columbia University.
He was the son of Edgar J. Kaufmann, a wealthy Pittsburgh businessman and philanthropist who owned Kaufmann's department store, and his wife Liliane. Kaufmann Jr. attended the School for Arts and Crafts at the Austrian Museum of Applied Art in Vienna, in the late 1920s. He studied painting and typography for three years with Victor Hammer in Florence.
After reading Frank Lloyd Wright's autobiography, Kaufmann decided to become a resident apprentice in architecture at Wright's Taliesin East School and Studio from 1933 to 1934. According to fallingwater.org, he was particular about spelling his name "Edgar Kaufmann jr.".
When he left Wright's Taliesin Fellowship in 1935, he joined the family business and became merchandise manager for home furnishings, and in 1938, was elected secretary of the Kaufmann Department Stores, Inc. In 1940, Edgar wrote to Alfred Barr of the Museum of Modern Art, proposing the Organic Design in Home Furnishings Competition, won by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen. That same year, he left Kaufmann's to join the Museum of Modern Art.
He served with the Army Air Forces from 1942 to 1946 during World War II. Afterwards, he was director of the Industrial Design Department at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City. Edgar's greatest accomplishment during his tenure at MOMA was the 'Good Design' program of 1950 to 1955, in which the museum joined with the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, promoting good design in household objects and furnishings.
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