George Everard Kidder Smith

Above all, Kidder Smith was an astute observer—in words and pictures—of modern architecture and the historic built environment of numerous cities and countries across the globe. During the 1950s and 1960s, thanks to his activism as a preservationist, he rallied a number of high-profile individuals and eventually helped prevent the Robie House and Villa Savoye from being demolished. In his New York Times obituary published on October 26, 1997, Herbert Muschamp described G. Kidder Smith as a "civic watchdog."

George Everard Kidder Smith studied at Princeton University. Work by George Everard Kidder Smith is recorded in the collections of Museum of Modern Art, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries, Princeton Art Museum and Photography Collection. Distinctions recorded are Guggenheim Fellowship.

• Born — 1 October 1913 • Birthplace — Birmingham, Alabama • Died — 8 October 1997 • Place of death — Manhattan, New York • Occupation — Architect, author, photographer • Education — B. F. A., M. F. A. Princeton University (1935, 1938) • Children — 2 • Relatives — Francis Hopkinson Smith (great-uncle)

George Everard Kidder Smith was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on October 1, 1913. He was the third of four sons of Francis Hopkinson Smith (1876–1948) and Annie Kidder (1880–1929), a wealthy Episcopalian couple originally from Baltimore. Furthermore, the author, artist, and engineer F. Hopkinson Smith (1838–1915) was G. E. Kidder Smith's great-uncle. From an early age, he was inspired by stirring tales. Later, at school, he began his deep engagement with architecture and photography. He graduated from Princeton University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1935 and a Master of Fine Arts in 1938. In 1946 he was licensed as an architect. In August 1942, Kidder Smith married Dorothea Fales Wilder (1916–2015). During World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy with special photographic duties, which gave him the chance to encounter Captain Edward Steichen (1879–1973). Later on, Kidder Smith and Dot – often accompanied by their two sons, Kidder Jr. and Hopkinson – travelled the world documenting architecture and the built environment. He was a book author and exhibition curator on architecture in the United States and abroad. In his early career, Kidder Smith practised architecture, and during the years he was visiting lecturer and visiting professor in prestigious institutions such as Yale University School of Architecture and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1959, Kidder Smith was awarded the AIA Medal for Architectural Photography. His photographs appear in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. G. E. Kidder Smith dedicated his life to the understanding and appreciation of architecture—and particularly of modern architecture. While his multifaceted work received praise from peers throughout his life, he has not received the historical assessment of other contemporary figures such as Julius Shulman and Ezra Stoller. He died at the age of 83, on October 8, 1997, at his home in Manhattan, due to bronchiectasis.

Source: • "Alvar Aalto," The American Scandinavian Review, Winter 1940, 313–320; • "The Tragedy of American Architecture," Magazine of Art, Vol. 38, November 1945, 255–260, 278–279; • "The Navy Builds," The Architectural Forum, Vol. 84, n. 3, March 1946, 121–136; • "Manhattan: Some Architectural Pleasures" in New York City and Nearby Attractions, Fodor's Travel Guide, New York 1983, 70–80.

Source: • Stockholm Builds, MoMA, New York, August 4 – September 8, 1941; • Brazil Builds, MoMA, New York, January 13 – February 28, 1943, for Philip Lippincott Goodwin; • Power in the Pacific, MoMA, New York, January 23 – March 20, 1945, for Captain Edward Steichen; • The Postwar Church in Germany, The Goethe House, New York, November 14 – December 14, 1957; • The Work of Alvar Aalto, The Octagon House, Washington, December 11–29, 1963; • America's Architectural Heritage, Memphis Chapter AIA, January 14 – February 5, 1978, Memphis, Tennessee; • Reflection on Church Architecture: A Celebration, The Smithy Pioneer Gallery, New York, July 30 – August 17, 1991.

• An Architectural Odyssey with G. E. Kidder Smith, a documentary produced by WNET. Concept, writing, and production Milton Hoffman. Reviewed by Wolf Von Eckardt, "TV's Monumental Miss," Washington Post, August 2, 1978, D9.

Source: • The Magnificence of Italy (c. 1957– 1961); • The Architecture of India (c. 1967, c. 1990).

In 1946, he was both a Guggenheim Fellow and an American-Scandinavian Fellow. In 1949, Smith was a President's Fellow at Brown University. He was awarded Fulbright Research Fellowships to Italy in 1950 and India in 1965, and a Samuel H. Kress Foundation grant in 1967. In 1967 and 1974, he received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. Additionally, in 1970 and 1975, he received Ford Foundation grants.

* • Maggi, Angelo, "George Everard Kidder Smith e la scena urbana europea come esperienza estetica / George Everard Kidder Smith and the European urban scene as an aesthetic experience" in Urbanistica, n. 160, LXIX July – December 2017, 48–58. • Maggi, Angelo, "Re-interpreting Italy Builds: l'Architettura Italiana secondo George Everard Kidder Smith," in Maria Antonietta Crippa e Ferdinando Zanzottera (edited by), Fotografia per l'Architettura del XX secolo in Italia. Costruzione della storia, progetto, cantiere, Silvana editoriale, Cinisello Balsamo 2017, 70–83. • Maggi, Angelo, "Re-interpreting Kidder Smith's Italy Builds: Crossovers between Photography and Architecture," in Scopio. International Photography Magazine, vol. 2 (2/3) 2018, 62–77. • Maggi, Angelo, "The Visual Transmission of European Architecture by George Everard Kidder Smith," in Inter-fotografia y Arquitectura / Inter-photography and Architecture, Servicio de Publicaciones Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona 2016, vol. 3: interpretaciones / interpretations, 140–151. • Sabatino, Michelangelo, "G. E. Kidder Smith's Reputational Shadow", foreword in Angelo Maggi, G. E. Kidder Smith Builds. The Travel of Architectural Photography, Oro, Novato (CA) 2022, 8–17. • G. E. Kidder Smith Photographer: Building Books, IIT College of Architecture, Chicago, May 20 – July 8, 2022. • G. E. Kidder Smith Photographer: At Home in America, Barnsworth Gallery, The Edith Farnsworth House, Plano, Illinois, May 22 – July 31, 2022. • G. E. Kidder Smith Photographer: Discovering Italy, Italian Cultural Institute in Chicago, Chicago, May 23 – July 8, 2022. • G. E. Kidder Smith Photographer: The Venice Connection, Università Iuav di Venezia, May 26, 2022. • Gil, Iker, Interview to Angelo Maggi, Michelangelo Sabatino et al., Chicago, 2022.