Inside the archives of American photographer Ezra Stoller

Ezra Stoller is one of the 20th century's most acclaimed photographers of Modern and Midcentury architecture. A new book and exhibition is set to throw fresh light on his oeuvre, showing his well-known architectural photographs alongside little seen works fuelled by his own personal interests.
Digging into Stoller's archive of more than 50,000 images, the book 'Ezra Stoller: Photographer' (published by Yale University Press) presents the Chicago-born photographer's industrial and domestic work. This sits side by side with his better-known images of Modernist architecture, showing the breadth of his output. It is penned by curator Nina Rappaport and Erica Stoller (the photographer's daughter and director of their agency, Esto).
The book is a timely precursor to the exhibition Beyond Architecture, which opens at the Yossi Milo Gallery in New York in January. Aiming to capture a 'lost America', it features visuals taken all around the country, from workers in Queens to conveyor belts at the Heinz factory.
Together they show a new perspective of post-war America, while also offering some of the images that helped define the cultural memory of mid-century design.
CBS Records, 1953
Lifesavers Factory, 1956
Hirshhorn Museum, designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill, 1955
Power in West', photographed for Fortune Magazine, 1947
Power in West', photographed for Fortune Magazine, 1947
Power in West', photographed for Fortune Magazine, 1947
Power in West', photographed for Fortune Magazine, 1947
Duplan Silk Mills, 1943
Tuskegee Institute Chapel, designed by Paul Rudolph, 1969
Equitable Building, Portland, designed by Pietro Belluschi, 1948
John Hancock Construction, designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill, 1967
World’s Fair, NY State Pavilion, designed by Philip Johnson, 1964
World’s Fair, NY State Pavilion, designed by Philip Johnson, 1964
Philip Morris Research Building, designed by Ulrich Franzen, 1972
Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, 1959
Marin County Civic Center, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, 1963
Deering House, designed by Paul Rudolph, 1958
Cocoon House, designed by Paul Rudolph, 1951
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
The bespoke Jaguar E-Type GTO melds elements from every era of the classic sports car
ECD Automotive Design’s one-off commission caters to a client who wanted to combine the greatest hits of Jaguar’s E-Type along with modern conveniences and more power
-
Casa Sanlorenzo debuts in Venice as a new hub for contemporary art
The luxury yachting leader unveils a stunning new space in a palazzo restored by Piero Lissoni – where art, innovation, and sustainability come together
-
Once vacant, London's grand department stores are getting a new lease on life
Thanks to imaginative redevelopment, these historic landmarks are being rebonr as residences, offices, gyms and restaurants. Here's what's behind the trend
-
Photographer Geordie Wood takes a leap of faith with first film, Divers
Geordie Wood delved into the world of professional diving in Fort Lauderdale for his first film
-
New book celebrates 100 years of New York City landmarks where LGBTQ+ history took place
Marc Zinaman’s ‘Queer Happened Here: 100 Years of NYC’s Landmark LGBTQ+ Places’ is a vital tribute to queer culture
-
A major Takashi Murakami exhibition sees the world in kaleidoscopic colour
The Cleveland Art Museum presents 'Takashi Murakami 'Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow', exploring outrage and escapist fantasy
-
Ai Weiwei’s new public installation is coming soon to Four Freedoms State Park
‘Camouflage’ by Ai Weiwei will launch the inaugural Art X Freedom project in September 2025, a new programme to investigate social justice and freedom
-
Leonard Baby's paintings reflect on his fundamentalist upbringing, a decade after he left the church
The American artist considers depression and the suppressed queerness of his childhood in a series of intensely personal paintings, on show at Half Gallery, New York
-
Desert X 2025 review: a new American dream grows in the Coachella Valley
Will Jennings reports from the epic California art festival. Here are the highlights
-
This rainbow-coloured flower show was inspired by Luis Barragán's architecture
Modernism shows off its flowery side at the New York Botanical Garden's annual orchid show.
-
In ‘The Last Showgirl’, nostalgia is a drug like any other
Gia Coppola takes us to Las Vegas after the party has ended in new film starring Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl