#johnyeon

Spotlight on John Yeon, the Father of Northwest Regional Architecture

In 1937, a photo landed in the hands of The Museum of Modern Art that would propel a young Portland, Oregon, architect, John Yeon, onto the national stage. This launched the Northwest Regional style of modernist architecture, with Yeon in the starring role.

The image was a striking black-and-white photo that was taken by photographer Walter Boychuk, who happened to capture the Watzek House, a home in the hills of Portland that the 26-year-old Yeon had designed for the lumber magnate, Aubrey R. Watzek. It was taken at an auspicious moment when Mount Hood was peeking through the clouds. The image—with a perspective that appeared almost collapsed like a Japanese print—showcased the beautiful lines of the modernist wooden house, which perfectly mirrored the distant mountain. MoMA curators included the photo in their 1939 10th anniversary book, Art in Our Time, alongside Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Jacobs House. The world took note.

Read the rest of the story here.

top image by Jeremy Bitterman / bottom image by Walter Boychuk