Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Colonial Church
1920-28
Pencil on paper
20 ½ x 14 inches
Signed lower right: "Louis I. Kahn"
(LBFA #4218)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Trees and Hill/Wall Gate, Ravello, Italy
1929
Graphite on paper
11 x 8 ½ inches
(LBFA #3977)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Caesar's Tower, Warwick Castle, England
1928
Pencil on paper
20 ¾ x 15 inches
(LBFA #4251)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Tower, Positano, Italy
1929
Watercolor on paper
14 ½ x 10 ½ inches
(LBFA #4247)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Hotel Luna and Medieval Castle, Italy
1929
Watercolor on paper
8 x 10 inches
(LBFA #3859)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Atrani from Torre Saracena, Amalfi Coast, Italy
1929
Watercolor on paper
11 x 15 ¼ inches
(LBFA #4250)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Mountain Village No. 2, Amalfi Coast, Italy
1928-29
Lithograph
9 x 7 1/8 inches
Signed lower right: "Louis I. Kahn"
(LBFA #4254)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Fisherman's Hut, Amalfi Coast, Italy
1929
Graphite on paper
11 x 8 inches
Signed lower right: "Louis I. Kahn"
(LBFA #4246)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Fisherman's Huts, No. 2, Amalfi Coast, Italy
1929-30
Oil on canvas
24 x 30 inches
Signed lower right: "Louis I. Kahn"
(LBFA #4248)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Street, Positano, Italy
1928-29
Watercolor on paper
15 x 11 inches
(LBFA #4219)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Rustic House, Ravello, Italy
1929
Graphite on brown paper
9 x 12 inches
(LBFA #2569)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Tudor House, London, England
1928
Pencil and black crayon on paper
22 x 15 inches
(LBFA #4252)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Statues in the Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Italy
1928-29
Graphite on bond paper
11 ¼ x 8 ¾ inches
Inscribed bottom right: "Firenze"
(LBFA #3980)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Mountain Road No. 2, Woodstock, New York
1931
Watercolor on paper
8 ½ x 11 ¼ inches
(LBFA #4243)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Cortile di Villa Rufolo, Ravello, Italy
1928-29
Graphite on brown paper
12 x 8 7/8 inches
(LBFA #4249)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Atrio del Palazzo Rufolo, Ravello, Italy
1929
Graphite on brown paper
16 ½ x 11 ¾ inches
Edition of SAK-7
Inscribed top center: "Atrio del Palazzo Rufolo"
(LBFA #3872)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Canal Houses, Venice, Italy
1928-29
Watercolor on paper
10 x 8 inches
(LBFA #3861)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Compostion from Step of Fountain, Florence, Italy
1928-29
Graphite on bond paper
11 ¼ x 8 ¾ inches
Inscribed bottom right: "Compostion from step of fountain"
(LBFA #3981)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Sleepy Town, Isle Madame, Nova Scotia, Canada
1935
Watercolor on paper
8 ½ x 10 1/8 inches
Signed LR: "Louis I. Kahn '35"
(LBFA #3862)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Coming Storm, No. 3, Woodstock, New York
1931
Watercolor on paper
13 ¼ x 16 ¼ inches
(LBFA #4255)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Danube Country
1930
Watercolor on paper
15 x 22 inches
(LBFA #4256)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Rolling Countryside, No. 1, Cape Ann, Massachusetts
1936
Watercolor on paper
6 ¾ x 9 inches
(LBFA #4225)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Rolling Countryside, No. 2, Cape Ann, Massachusetts
1936
Watercolor on paper
8 ¾ x 12 inches
Signed lower right: "Louis I. Kahn"
(LBFA #1743)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Mountain Road No. 1, Woodstock, New York
1931
Watercolor on paper
5 x 11 inches
(LBFA #4226)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Mountain Road No. 2, Woodstock, New York
1931
Watercolor on paper
8 ½ x 11 ¼ inches
(LBFA #4243)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Rock Formation, Massachusetts
1934-35
Watercolor on paper
7 x 8 ½ inches
(LBFA #1744)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Mountain, No. 1, Woodstock, New York
1934-35
Watercolor on paper
11 ¼ x 13 ¼ inches
(LBFA #1745)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Mountain Lakes, White Mountains, New England
1934-35
Watercolor on paper
13 x 15 ¾ inches
(LBFA #1746)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Landscape Study, Woodstock, New York
1934-35
Pencil on paper
5 x 8 inches
(LBFA #4242)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Dry Dock, Nova Scotia, Canada [double-sided]
1937
Pencil on bond paper
8 3/8 x 10 7/8 inches
(LBFA #2946)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Boat Dock, Nova Scotia, Canada
1937
Pencil on paper
10 x 13 ¾ inches
(LBFA #2947)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Moored Boats, No. 2, Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec, Canada
c. 1930s
Conte crayon on paper
8 x 9 5/8 inches
(LBFA #3982)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Fisherman's Camp, No. 2, Saguenay River, Quebec, Canada
1937
Brush and ink on paper
7 ½ x 10 inches
Signed lower right: "Louis I. Kahn '37"
(LBFA #4257)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Fisherman's Camp, No. 3, Saguenay River, Quebec, Canada
1937
Pen and ink on bond paper
8 ½ x 11 inches
Signed lower right: "Louis I. Kahn"
(LBFA #1770)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Fisherman's Camp, No. 4, Saguenay River, Quebec, Canada [double-sided]
1937
Watercolor on paper
8 ½ x 11 3/8 inches
(LBFA #4221)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Moored Boats, No. 1, Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec, Canada
1937
Watercolor on bond paper
6 x 8 ¾ inches
(LBFA #3983)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Coastal Village, No. 2, Isle Madame, Nova Scotia, Canada
1936
Tempera on paper
9 x 12 inches
(LBFA #4222)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Cliff Road, No. 2, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada
1937
Pen and ink on paper
11 x 8 3/8 inches
Signed lower right: "Lou K/37"
(LBFA #1750)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Cliff Road, No. 3, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada
1937
Pen and ink on paper
8 3/8 x 11 inches
Signed lower right: "Lou K '37"
(LBFA #1751)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
On the way to Stockton from Oakland, California
1948
Charcoal pencil on paper
12 x 9 inches
Inscribed: "On the way to Stockton from Oakland"
(LBFA #4227)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
San Fernando Valley Farms, California
1948
Charcoal pencil on paper
12 x 9 inches
(LBFA #4228)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
San Fernando Valley, California
1940-50
Charcoal pencil on paper
9 x 12 inches
Inscribed lower right: "San Fernando Valley"
(LBFA #4229)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
The White Church, No. 4, Rockport, Massachusetts
1930-36
Charcoal on paper
6 x 7 inches
(LBFA #1754)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
The White Church, No. 1, Rockport, Massachusetts
1930-36
Pencil on tracing paper
14 x 19 ½ inches
(LBFA #4231)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
The White Church, No. 2, Rockport, Massachusetts
1930-36
Watercolor on paper
15 ¾ x 19 ½ inches
(LBFA #4232)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
The White Church, No. 3, Rockport, Massachusetts
1930-36
Oil on canvas
24 x 30 inches
(LBFA #1444)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Going to Church, No. 1, Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec, Canada
1937
Charcoal on tracing paper
18 ¾ x 23 ¾ inches
(LBFA #4223)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Large Baths, Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli
1951
Pastel on paper
7 ½ x 8 ½ inches
Signed middle right: "Lou K '51"
(LBFA #1755)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Ruins, Rome-Ostia, Italy
1951
Charcoal on paper
8 ¾ x 9 ¾ inches
Signed and dated middle right: "Lou K '51"
(LBFA #4230)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Panorama, Delphi, Greece
1951
Pastel on paper
10 x 14 ¼ inches
Inscribed on the back and upper right: "Delphi III"
(LBFA #3987)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
The Oracle, No. 2, Delphi, Greece
1951
Charcoal pencil on paper
11 ¼ x 14 3/8 inches
(LBFA #1756)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Tree Study, Greece
1951
Charcoal pencil on paper
11 ½ x 14 ¾ inches
(LBFA #4233)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Propylaea, Acropolis, Athens, Greece
1951
Pastel on paper
11 ½ x 9 ½ inches
(LBFA #3988)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Interior, Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, Greece
1951
Pastel on paper
11 x 14 inches
(LBFA #2571)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Granite Quarries, No. 3, Aswan, Egypt
1951
Charcoal pencil on paper
7 ½ x 8 5/8 inches
(LBFA #4234)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Granite Quarries, No. 5b, Aswan, Egypt
1951
Brush and india ink on paper
11 ¼ x 14 3/8 inches
(LBFA #1774)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
Granite Quarries, No. 6a, Aswan, Egypt
1951
Charcoal pencil on paper
7 ½ x 8 5/8 inches
(LBFA #4235)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
The White Church, Rockport, Massachusetts
1930-36
Graphite on paper
6 x 8 7/8 inches
(LBFA #4238)

Louis I. Kahn [1901-1974]
The White Church, Rockport, Massachusetts
1930-36
Graphite on paper
11 ¾ x 8 ¾ inches
(LBFA #4239)

Press Release

Lori Bookstein Fine Art is pleased to present “Louis I. Kahn: Building a View,” an exhibition of the fine art of the architect Louis Kahn [1901-1974]. Drawings, watercolors, pastels and oil paintings, as diverse in subject matter as the quaint churches of New England and the rock quarries of Egypt, will be culled from Kahn's travels from the late 1920s to the early 1950s. This is the gallery's second one-person show of the artist's work, following a critically acclaimed booth at the 2008 Works on Paper fair in New York.

Louis Isadore Kahn was born in Estonia to Latvian parents, who immigrated to Philadelphia when he was five. At an early age, Kahn demonstrated an aptitude for drawing, and his eventual decision to pursue architecture at the University of Pennsylvania came at the cost of turning down a scholarship in fine art. At Penn, Kahn studied under the distinguished French architect Paul Philippe Cret, whose Beaux-Arts background were formative for Kahn. Although Kahn’s eventual path would be towards a transcendent modernist vision, this early training, like his dual identity of artist and architect, remained with him for life.

Wherever he traveled, Kahn made studies of the natural and urban landscapes he encountered. “Building a View” will examine how Kahn, on his travels within the United States, and to Canada, Europe and Egypt explored repeating themes and motifs, creating both sketches produced on site and more polished images from memory. Ephemera, including post cards and photographs, will also be on display, and will give additional insight into how the artist made alternative views from a single point of departure.

The exhibition, comprised of some 60 works, will survey the full range of Kahn’s drawing modes, from the rigorous Beaux-Arts drawings of his youth, characterized by attention to compositional balance and detailed observation, to the more subjective and abstracted works of his mature years. In 1950, Kahn was invited to the American Academy in Rome as architect in residence. During this residency, trips to Greece and Egypt made a remarkable impact on Kahn. The influence of the pure, monolithic forms of ancient temples and structures that is so evident in his art would also, in the following two decades, become an elemental part of his architectural ethos.

Kahn’s work can be found in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, Deutsches Architektur Museum in Frankfurt, Germany; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; Williams College Museum of Art and the University of Pennsylvania. His most celebrated architectural projects include the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California (1959–65); the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas (1967–72); the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut (1969–74) and the National Assembly Building in Dhaka, Bangladesh (1962–83). Plans for the Four Freedoms Park, a memorial to President Franklin Roosevelt on Roosevelt Island, were put on hold in the wake of a New York City fiscal crisis in 1975. More than three decades later, the project was revived and ground was broken in March 2010 on the only Kahn structure to be built in New York. The latest updates on the project are available at www.fdrfourfreedomspark.org.

“Louis I. Kahn: Building a View” will be on exhibit through June 25, 2011. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10:30 to 6. For more information or visual materials, please contact the gallery.