Ezra Stoller had such a profound impact on the field of modern architectural photography that his name became a verb. Famous architects like Frank Lloyd Wright, Eero Saarinen and Marcel Breuer saw their buildings “Stollerized” — a word coined by none other than Philip Johnson, denoting expertly reimagined for the flat space of the photograph and made accessible to readers of books and magazines who could not visit them in person.
Stoller’s mostly black-and-white photographs play up the most exciting features of 20th-century landmarks: the swooping curves of Saarinen’s TWA Terminal (1962), the radical transparency of Johnson’s Glass House (1949), the monolithic gravitas of the United Nations Building (1950). As the photographer once said, “While I cannot make a bad building good, I can draw out the strengths in a work that has strength.”
Although he didn’t have an architecture degree, Stoller, who died in 2004 at age 89, very nearly joined the profession. He was enrolled in architecture school at New York University when he began taking photographs in the late 1930s. This side project soon became a full-time career, as his classmates and professors (including Edward Durell Stone) started giving him assignments.
By 1946, he was traveling around the country documenting major projects for Fortune magazine, including Wright’s Taliesin West, in Scottsdale, Arizona. This was the beginning of a long association with Wright, who later commissioned Stoller to shoot the Guggenheim Museum and the house perched above a waterfall known as Fallingwater.
Stoller had an equally symbiotic relationship with Saarinen, capturing many of the low-slung, boxy structures the Finnish architect designed for Midwestern corporate campuses, as well as his more fanciful TWA Terminal at Idlewild Airport (now John F. Kennedy International Airport), in New York.
For someone so strongly aligned with modern architecture, Stoller acknowledged some surprising historical influences. One was the visionary 18th-century printmaker Giovanni Battista Piranesi, who, like Stoller, trained in architecture. Another was the late-19th-century photographer Eugene Atget, who documented the streets and storefronts of Paris during a major upheaval in urban planning.
“For getting a sense of space, there’s nobody like Atget,” Stoller once told an interviewer.
In addition to Stoller’s artistry, architects appreciated his meticulous multistage process. Typically, he would start with a daylong walk-through of a project, after which he formulated a detailed shooting plan — annotating images of the building with arrows and times of day and paying close attention to the weather and changing light.
Once onsite with his equipment, Stoller would rearrange the furniture to achieve the perfect shot and obsess, as he later recalled, over such questions as “at exactly what angle should the window be open.”
Find original Ezra Stoller photography on 1stDibs.
Miami Parking Garage, Robert Law Weed and Associates, Miami Fl.
By Ezra Stoller
Located in Miami, FL
Ezra Stroller is perhaps the world's most accomplished Architectural Photographer. In this image " Miami Parking Garage, Robert Law Weed and Associates" ...
C Print
Tuscany, Roses Taverna d'Arbia, 1991
By Joel Meyerowitz
Located in Surfside, FL
Meyerowitz first drew acclaim for his remarkable ability to capture subtlequalities of light with the 1978 publication of Cape Light, which went on to become a color photography clas...
C Print
$2,500
H 40 in W 60 in
'Night Rider' Rainer W. Schlegelmilch Archive Limited Edition
By Rainer W. Schlegelmilch
Located in London, GB
'Night Rider' Rainer W. Schlegelmilch Archive Limited Edition Fantastic, fabulous and fantastical, many of the top car manufacturers like Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini etc launched concept cars...
C Print
$3,000
H 20 in W 16 in
Tuscany, Sleeping Woman, 1996 Large Vintage Color Photograph C-Print Signed
By Joel Meyerowitz
Located in Surfside, FL
Meyerowitz first drew acclaim for his remarkable ability to capture subtlequalities of light with the 1978 publication of Cape Light, which went on to become a color photography clas...
Photographic Paper, C Print
House, West Cork, Ireland, 1996
By John Dolan
Located in Hudson, NY
Each year, Robin Rice celebrates a Salon style exhibition to showcase her gallery artists and invite new ones. With Robin’s extensive experience as a gallery curator, all Robin Rice Gallery endeavors are superbly managed. Whether working with corporate clients, interior designers or established collectors, the Robin Rice Gallery guides patrons throughout the selection process, inspiring them to build a stylish collection or striking décor. The Robin Rice Gallery offers a bevy of styles that Robin has procured with her own signature school of artists. C Print, Blue, House, Red Door, Vignette, Blur, House, West Cork...
C Print
$1,400
H 14 in W 17 in
Vintage Color Photograph Nun, Mount Olives, Jerusalem Museum Ted Spiegel Photo
Located in Surfside, FL
This is a vintage Ted Spiegel photo of a Benedictine Nun, Mount of Olives, Jerusalem. Hand signed and editioned A/P. This is for one Photograph from the portfolio entitled "Jerusalem: City of Mankind," The mounting is 14 X 17 inches. the actual photo measurement is between 9.25 X 14 to 10.5 X 13.5 inches (22.9 X 35.6 to 26.7 X 34.3 cm.) This is hand signed and editioned in pencil, on print mount recto; and stamped on the reverse with photographers name and copyright info. In a folding jacket with a printed credit and title. The red title sheet is just here for provenance and reference and is not included in this sale. The first copy was awarded to the President of the United States, the second to the President of the State of Israel, the third to the Mayor of Jerusalem and the fourth to the Baron Edmond de Rothschild. Rare Cornell Capa and Baron Edmond De Rothschild “Jerusalem: City Of Mankind” Photo Album 1973. It has been produced by the international fund for concerned photography, INC, New York for the women’s division of the American Friends of the Israel Museum, New York. 15 copied were reserved for participating photographers. Color prints are made by dye transfer process from original transparencies and black and white enlargements are made from original negatives under the photographers supervision. Design and production – Arnold Skolnick / Bhupendra Karia. Color prints by Berkey K & L Custom Services INC, New York. Black and white prints by Igor Bakht Werner Braun – Moonrise over the Knesset Robert Burroughs – At the Western Wall. Cornell Capa – View from the Israel Museum sculpture garden. Leonard Freed – Reading from Sephardic Torah scrolls. Ernst Haas – In the Arab quarter, Old City. Charles Harbutt – Easter, Holy fire. Ron Havilio – Wallscape. Bhupendra Karia – Midday prayers, Al Aqsa grounds. Marc Riboud – Ecumenical landscape Billy rose garden, Israel museum. Ted Spiegel – Benedictine nun, Mount of Olives. Micha Bar-Am – Via Dolorosa on Friday. An accomplished photojournalist with more than 50 years of experience, Ted Spiegel has covered assignments across the globe, but like the 19th-century artists of the famed Hudson River School, he's made the Hudson River Valley the focus of much of his life's work. Spiegel's love of the landscape and positive attitude infuse all his images. His January 1978 assignment for National Geographic magazine was a color photo essay on the Hudson River Valley. He has produced 15 other photo essays for National Geographic magazine on a variety of subjects, and has also produced several picture books on such topics as the Hudson River Valley, Saratoga and West Point. He also did a celebrated series of photos of John F Kennedy one of which was selected for the JFK USA postal stamp. Speigel’s biography on the National Geographic website espouses his zest for his home: “He’s covered assignments across the globe, but like the 19th-century artists of the famed Hudson River School, he’s made the Hudson River Valley the focus of much of his life’s work.” It also notes that he uses photography as a medium to encourage appreciation and respect for the environment’s beauty: “Spiegel’s love of the landscape and positive attitude infuse all his images, [and he] sees his landscape photography as a way to make people aware of the beauty in nature and a way to, in turn, encourage people to help protect and save the environment.” Photographers, like seeds in a rich environment, take root, grow and prosper. For Ansel Adams, the place was the West Coast -- Carmel, Calif., and Yosemite National Park. For Ted Spiegel, it is the Hudson River Valley -- Bear Mountain...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color
$2,500
H 40 in W 60 in
'Night Rider' Rainer W. Schlegelmilch Archive Limited Edition
By Rainer W. Schlegelmilch
Located in London, GB
'Night Rider' Rainer W. Schlegelmilch Archive Limited Edition Fantastic, fabulous and fantastical, many of the top car manufacturers like Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini etc launched concept cars...
C Print
$2,000
H 40 in W 30 in
Herefordshire House 1995 Signed Limited Edition
By Christopher Simon Sykes
Located in London, GB
'Herefordshire House' by Christopher Simon Sykes An open window gives a view along a country lane in Herefordshire, from the home of filmmaker John Bulmer and sculptor Angela Connor...
C Print, Color
$1,500
H 16 in W 20 in
A Yard, Mezilles Burgundy France. Field Of Flowers 1986 Vintage Color Photograph
By Frank Gohlke
Located in Surfside, FL
Size is without frame. French Burgundy wine country farmhouse yard scene with flowers. Frank Gohlke (born April 3, 1942) is an American landscape photographer. He has been awarded ...
C Print, Color
Country Road And Cypresses Grove, Tuscany, Italy
Located in London, GB
Country Road And Cypresses Grove, Tuscany, Italy By Marco Bottigelli C print Oversize 30 x 20" inches / 76 x 51 cm Unframed Framing & Different Sizes Available - Please Ask. By...
C Print, Color
Midtown Manhattan Night
Located in London, GB
Midtown Manhattan Night Artist Aerial Perspectives / Getty Images C print Oversize 40 x 60" inches / 101 x 152 cm Unframed Framing & Different S...
C Print, Color
Siena Rain - Oversize c type - Limited Edition
By Bernhard Wübbel
Located in London, GB
Siena Rain - Oversize c type - Limited Edition 1/50 by Bernhard Wübbel Beautiful archival pigment print limited to 50 only - numbered and stamped by...
C Print, Color
Siena Rain - Oversize c type - Limited Edition
By Bernhard Wübbel
Located in London, GB
Siena Rain - Oversize c type - Limited Edition 1/50 by Bernhard Wübbel Beautiful archival pigment print limited to 50 only - numbered and stamped by the gallery and with certifica...
C Print, Color