Ada Louise Huxtable
Encyclopedia
Ada Louise Huxtable (born March 14, 1921, in New York, NY) is an architecture
critic
and writer
on architecture. In 1970 she was awarded the first ever Pulitzer Prize for Criticism
for "distinguished criticism during 1969."
Her father, Michael Landman, was co-author (with his brother, Rabbi Isaac Landman
) of the play A Man of Honor.
Ada Louise Landman received an A. B. (magna cum laude) from Hunter College
, CUNY
in 1941. In 1942, she married industrial design
er L. Garth Huxtable, and continued graduate study at New York University
from 1942 to 1950. She served as Curatorial Assistant for Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art
in New York from 1946 to 50. She was a contributing editor to Progressive Architecture and Art in America from 1950 to 1963 before being named the first architecture critic at The New York Times
, a post she held from 1963 to 1982. She has received grants from the Graham Foundation for a number of projects, including the book Will They Ever Finish Bruckner Boulevard?.
She is currently the architecture critic for The Wall Street Journal
.
John Costonis, writing of how public aesthetics is shaped, used her as a prime example of an influential media critic, remarking that "the continuing barrage fired from [her] Sunday column... had New York developers, politicians, and bureaucrats, ducking for years." He reproduces a cartoon in which construction workers, at the base of a building site with a foundation and a few girders lament that "Ada Louise Huxtable already doesn't like it!"
Carter Wiseman writes, "Huxtable's insistence on intellectual rigor and high design standards made her the conscience of the national architectural community."
She has written over ten books on architecture, including a 2004 biography of Frank Lloyd Wright
for the Penguin Lives series.
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
on architecture. In 1970 she was awarded the first ever Pulitzer Prize for Criticism
Pulitzer Prize for Criticism
The Pulitzer Prize for Criticism has been presented since 1970 to a newspaper writer who has demonstrated 'distinguished criticism'. Recipients of the award are chosen by an independent board and officially administered by Columbia University...
for "distinguished criticism during 1969."
Her father, Michael Landman, was co-author (with his brother, Rabbi Isaac Landman
Isaac Landman
Isaac Landman was an American Reform rabbi, author and anti-Zionist activist. He was editor of the ten volume Universal Jewish Encyclopedia.-Biography:...
) of the play A Man of Honor.
Ada Louise Landman received an A. B. (magna cum laude) from Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
, CUNY
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
in 1941. In 1942, she married industrial design
Industrial design
Industrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...
er L. Garth Huxtable, and continued graduate study at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
from 1942 to 1950. She served as Curatorial Assistant for Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York from 1946 to 50. She was a contributing editor to Progressive Architecture and Art in America from 1950 to 1963 before being named the first architecture critic at The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, a post she held from 1963 to 1982. She has received grants from the Graham Foundation for a number of projects, including the book Will They Ever Finish Bruckner Boulevard?.
She is currently the architecture critic for The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
.
John Costonis, writing of how public aesthetics is shaped, used her as a prime example of an influential media critic, remarking that "the continuing barrage fired from [her] Sunday column... had New York developers, politicians, and bureaucrats, ducking for years." He reproduces a cartoon in which construction workers, at the base of a building site with a foundation and a few girders lament that "Ada Louise Huxtable already doesn't like it!"
Carter Wiseman writes, "Huxtable's insistence on intellectual rigor and high design standards made her the conscience of the national architectural community."
She has written over ten books on architecture, including a 2004 biography of Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
for the Penguin Lives series.
Selected works
- Frank Lloyd Wright: A Life (2008)
- On Architecture: Collected Reflections on a Century of Change (2008)
- The Unreal America: Architecture and Illusion (1999)
- The Tall Building Artistically Reconsidered (1993)
- Will They Ever Finish Bruckner Boulevard? (1989)
- Kicked A Building Lately? (1989)
- Architecture, Anyone? Cautionary Tales of the Building Art (1988)
- Goodbye History, Hello Hamburger: An Anthology of Architectural Delights and Disasters (1986)
External links
- Tribute to Ada Louise Huxtable, a speech by Paul GoldbergerPaul GoldbergerPaul Goldberger is the Architecture Critic for The New Yorker, where since 1997 he has written the magazine's celebrated "Sky Line" column. He also holds the Joseph Urban Chair in Design and Architecture at The New School in New York City...
, architecture critic for The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
.