SAN LUIS OBISPO – The public will get a glimpse inside the mind of architect Julia Morgan in a new exhibit this fall. The Kennedy Library just announced, the opening of the exhibit.
According to a release on the exhibit, Julia Morgan was California's first licensed female architect, Morgan designed more than 700 structures in California, including Hearst Castle. The exhibit will feature visual representations of Morgan's craft and design aesthetic, alongside Cal Poly student architecture work inspired by her design.
The Kastner lecture is part of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design's 2012 Hearst Lecture Series. Kastner is the Hearst Castle historian and author of two books: "Hearst Castle: The Biography of a Country House" and "Hearst's San Simeon: The Gardens and the Land."
Despite a persistent myth that Morgan destroyed the records of her nearly 55-year practice when she retired in 1951, she instead preserved thousands of architectural plans, drawings, sketchbooks, photographs, correspondence, project files and other papers.
Morgan's vast archive was given to Cal Poly by her heirs in 1980 and is held in the public trust in Special Collections at Kennedy Library.
The exhibit titled, "Atelier Morgan: The Personal Archives of Architect Julia Morgan," kicks off with a reception from 3 to 4 p.m. on Nov. 9 in the library. The reception will be followed with a lecture by historian Victoria Kastner from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Business Rotunda. Both events are free and open to the public.
The exhibit is presented in collaboration with the Julia Morgan 2012 Festival, a series of activities and exhibits held at Morgan-designed facilities and public venues around the state. For more information, go to www.landmarkscalifornia.org/julia-morgan-2012/.
The exhibit will be open during regular library hours from Nov. 9, 2012, through Jan. 11, 2013. For library hours go to lib.calpoly.edu/hours/.
For more information on the exhibit, go to lib.calpoly.edu/exhibits.
Julia Morgan Studio Portrait, Paris, c. 1900 | Courtesy Special Collections, Kennedy Library
