Richard Neutra's Miller House
Stephen Leet

At the dawn of his international fame, architect Richard Neutra was approached by a St. Louis socialite, Grace Lewis Miller, to design a small winter home on the edge of glamour-baked Palm Springs. Miller wanted an open, light-filled house that could also act as a studio for her fashionably avant-garde exercise course in posture and grace, "The Mensendieck System." This unique program, combined with the desert landscape and the proactive, health-minded client appealed to the idealist in Neutra. The frequent, fervent dialog between Neutra and Miller, who had great mutual respect, produced a work of forward-thinking and artful architecture.

In Richard Neutra's Miller House, Stephen Leet traces the conception and realization of the house, examines the complex relationship between architect and client, and shows how the Mensendieck System influenced the creation of this seminal Neutra project. Beautiful duotone photographs by Julius Shulman, excerpts from the detailed correspondence between Neutra and Miller, and sketches and drawings provide valuable insight into the design process.

Like the houses of Albert Frey, a contemporary of Neutra's who also build in the desert, the Miller House shows how architecture, the California landscape, and an interest in well-being can intersect in a moment of the architectural sublime.


Stephen Leet is an architecture professor at Washington University in St. Louis.
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Editorial Reviews

LA Architect:
"Julius Shulman's photos make the tale come alive." (11/2004)

Society of Architectural Historians-Southern California Chapter:
"This is a very personal book about a very personal house.
Although a winsome air pervades the book, there is a happy ending, as the Miller house is now being restored by a caring owner." (4/2005)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
"Leet's splendid book is a testament to the challenges inherent in the pursuit of quality and the rewards of its achievement." (10/2004)

Wallpaper:
"Richard Neutra's dazzling marriage of modernist space with bright West Coast light was epitomised by his Miller House in Palm Spring. The client was Grace Lewis Miller, a St. Louis socialite and health freak, for whom the free flowing inside-outside spaces would form the perfect backdrop for a life of self-improvement. Extensively illustrated, this is an essential history of modern architecture." (7/2004)

Dwell:
"Leet might well be the first Neutra expert to cite connections between architecture and posture, playing into Neutra's larger belief in modernism as therapeutic. Leet's new book about Neutra's Miller House explores every aspect of construction, delving into complex nuances of the architect-client relationship." (1/2005)

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