Arthur and Mona Hofmann House

Arthur and Mona Hofmann House, also known as the Hofmann House, was built in 1937 and is a historic home located at 1048 Cuesta Road in Hillsborough, California.[1] The building was designed by Modernist architect Richard Neutra in International Style. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since August 5, 1991.[2] The house is a private residence and not open to the public.

Arthur and Mona Hofmann House
Hofmann House is located in San Francisco Bay Area
Hofmann House
Hofmann House
Hofmann House is located in California
Hofmann House
Hofmann House
Hofmann House is located in the United States
Hofmann House
Hofmann House
Location1048 Cuesta Road, Hillsborough, California
Coordinates37°33′02″N 122°21′02″W / 37.550512°N 122.3504433°W / 37.550512; -122.3504433
Built1937
ArchitectRichard Neutra
Architectural styleInternational Style (architecture)
NRHP reference No.91000926
Added to NRHP1991

History

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Arthur Hofmann (1898–1979), and his artist wife, Mona (1910–1971) were introduced to architect Richard Neutra by Dr. Sidney Joseph and his wife Emily of San Francisco.[3] Mona Hofmann had been a painting assistant to Diego Rivera for his mural Man, Controller of the Universe, and Pan American Unity, where she also is a subject in the latter Rivera mural (in panel 2).[4][5][6] Emily Joseph had been a translator for Diego Rivera in 1930–1931.[7]

The Hofmann house was Neutra's first large San Francisco Bay Area home design.[8] He worked on the architectural design of this house with his collaborator Otto Winkler.[9] The 4200 sq. ft. house is a stucco house with three stories and a flat roof that overhangs, with an irregular, rectangular plan.[3] In 1991, the Hoffman house was the least altered home designed by Neutra outside of Southern California.[3]

Artist Antonio Sotomayor (1902–1985) painted a mural on one wall of the southwest wing, El Tigrero (1937).[3] At some point the mural was painted over and then restored.[3] The theme of a tige mural was from a story about Hofmann and a failed tiger hunt in Brazil.[3]

The Hofmann's supported Modernism in the arts and advocated for Neutra's work.[3][10] Mona was proud of the home she often spoke publicly in interviews.[10] This home won design awards including the second prize for House Beautiful magazine (1937),[11][12] historical renovations of the house were honored by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) of San Mateo County chapter (1992),[13] amongst others.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "National Register #91000926: Hofmann House in Hillsborough, California". noehill.com. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  2. ^ "NPGallery Asset Detail, Hofmann, Arthur and Mona, House". National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Hofmann. Arthur and Mona. House". United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service. 1991-06-21.
  4. ^ "Secret Rivera". SF Weekly. 2003-12-17. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  5. ^ International Photographer (Jan-Dec 1941). Media History Digital Library. Hollywood, California: Hollywood, Local 659 of the I.A.T.S.E. and M.P.M.O. of the United States and Canada. 1941.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. ^ "Rivera seated on scaffolding, painting Pan American Unity mural". Calisphere. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  7. ^ "About". Diego Rivera Mural Project. 2019. Retrieved 2020-10-27. Sidney was a painter and writer Emily had translated Diego's talks "on-the-fly" in his 1930-31 stay because Diego didn't speak English.
  8. ^ Drexler, Arthur; Hines, Thomas S. (1982). The Architecture of Richard Neutra: from International Style to California Modern (PDF). New York City, NY: The Museum of Modern Art. p. 10. ISBN 0-87070-506-7.
  9. ^ Michelson, Alan. "Hofmann, Arthur and Mona, House, Hillsborough, CA". Pacific Coast Architecture Database (PCAD), University of Washington. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  10. ^ a b Hines, Thomas S.; Neutra, Richard Joseph (1994-01-01). Richard Neutra and the Search for Modern Architecture: A Biography and History. University of California Press. pp. 143–145. ISBN 978-0-520-08589-3.
  11. ^ "Hillsboro Home Pans Wins Prize". Newspapers.com. The Times of San Mateo. 6 November 1937. p. 12. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  12. ^ "House Beautiful, Woodside Home Wins First Prize". Newspapers.com. The San Francisco Examiner. 28 December 1937. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  13. ^ "Notes". Newspapers.com. The San Francisco Examiner. 1 April 1992. p. 59. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
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