The Slim Aarons’ ‘Poolside Gossip’ House in Palm Springs
Photo: Slim Aarons, Getty Images
The Kaufmann Desert House—made famous in Slim Aaron’s ‘Poolside Gossip’ in 1970— was built in 1947 as a vacation home for department store magnate Edgar J. Kaufmann, designed by architect Richard Neutra who worked under Frank Lloyd Wright before starting his own firm in 1930.
Its distinctly airy design is created with a mix of glass, steel, and stone, with its rooms spread across the main level, intersecting courtyards and terraces. A single open-air patio is found on the second floor, nicknamed ‘the Gloriette’ by Neutra, a play on the 12th-century French word gloire, or “little room.”
A modernist architectural marvel, the Kaufmann Desert House is considered to have redefined modern architecture in California and paved the way for the west coast concept of “indoor-outdoor living”.
The iconic Palm Springs residence also underwent an award winning restoration in the 90s under the firm, Marmol Radziner.
The 5-bedroom property spans 3162 square feet and branches out into wings from a central hub. The 2.18 acre property includes a tennis court and boasts an incredible mountainous backdrop of the Palm Springs desert.
It’s said the infamous pool pavilion was the first thing Neutra completed when building the property, and the eccentric architect would often be found ““critiquing the rest of the construction while splashing and floating in the water.”
The photograph ‘Poolside Gossip’ is one of Slim Aarons’ most enduring artworks, part of his ‘Desert House’ series and depicts Lita Baron approaching Helen Dzo Dzo and Nelda Linsk (right), the wife of art dealer Joseph Linsk.
Slim Aarons’ work, owned and housed by Getty Images, has become synonymous with his images of glamorous jetsetters and beautiful people, taken around the world from the 1950s to 1980s.
The sale presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a mid-century modern architecture enthusiast or an institution to acquire one of the most important houses of the 20th century.
All photos belong to the listing agency.
