- G. E. Kidder Smith
George Everard Kidder Smith (1913,
Birmingham, Alabama - 1997) was an American architectural writer and photographer.Smith trained as an architect, received his MFA from Princeton in 1938, and served in the U.S. Navy during
World War II with special photographic duties.Through his career he wrote and photographed a number of books, the first of which was the 1943 "Brazil Builds", an examination of South American modernism produced in conjunction with a
Museum of Modern Art exhibition. Kidder himself designed a number of MOMA exhibitions, including anEdward Steichen show in 1945, "Power in the Pacific"."Brazil Builds" would be followed by "Switzerland Builds", "Sweden Builds", "Italy Builds", and Smith's most prominent work, the "Source Book of American Architecture".
Smith was also active as a preservationist. It was Smith who urged developer
William Zeckendorf to purchase theRobie House in August 1958, and in 1962 Smith helped organize the preservation of theVilla Savoye .
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