Andrew Geller

Andrew Geller
Born
Andrew Michael Geller

(1924-04-17)April 17, 1924
Brooklyn, New York
DiedDecember 25, 2011(2011-12-25) (aged 87)
Syracuse, New York
NationalityAmerican
OccupationArchitect
Parent(s)Olga Geller
Joseph Geller
BuildingsElizabeth Reese House (1955)
Pearlroth House (1958)
Esquire Weekend House
Leisurama

Andrew Michael Geller (April 17, 1924 – December 25, 2011) was an American architect, painter, and graphic designer. He is widely known for his uninhibited, sculptural beach houses in the coastal regions of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut during the 1950s and '60s, as well as for his indirect role in the 1959 Kitchen Debate between Richard Nixon (then Vice President) and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, which began at an exhibit Geller had helped design for the American National Exhibition in Moscow.

Geller worked with the prominent firm of American industrial and graphic designer Raymond Loewy where his projects ranged widely—from the design of shopping centers and department stores across the United States, to the Windows on the World restaurant atop the World Trade Center[1] and the logo of New York-based department store Lord & Taylor.[1][2]

After designing a beach house for Loewy's director of public relations,[3] Geller was featured in The New York Times and began receiving notoriety for his own work. Between 1955 and 1974,[4] Geller produced a series of modest but distinctive vacation homes, many published in popular magazines including Life, Sports Illustrated, and Esquire.[3]

On his death in 2011, The New York Times said Geller "helped bring modernism to the masses."[5]

  1. ^ a b "A Double Diamond May Not Be Forever". The New York Times, Bruce Lambert, May 6, 2005. May 6, 2005.
  2. ^ "Keepin' It Casual, Informal Script Lettering in Mid-Century American Advertising and Design". Communication Arts, Ken Barber. Archived from the original on 2010-12-23. Retrieved 2011-12-28. In spite of fluctuating typographic tastes and technological advances, much exemplary casual script lettering has endured, like Andrew Geller's energetic Lord & Taylor logo
  3. ^ a b "Andrew Geller, Architect of Happiness, 1924–2011". alastair-gordon-wall-to-all, December 26, 2011. 26 December 2011.
  4. ^ "Grandson Preserves Architect's Quirky Beach House Designs". Southampton Patch, Jessica DiNapoli, June 17, 2011. 17 June 2011.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference obit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).