Richard Meier is an American abstract artist and architect who is well-renowned for his abstract geometric designs and heavy use of white color in his works. His own designed white sculptural pieces initiated a new language of designs in the 1980s. Known for his iconic buildings, Meier is also a recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1984.
He has designed several famous buildings like the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, the Getty Center in Los Angeles, and San Jose City Hall. One of his earlier works that received critical acclaim as the “Smith House” in Darien, Connecticut.
What is Richard Meier Famous for?
- Famous for his architectural works and abstract geometric designs.
Source: @pinterest
Where is Richard Meier From?
Richard Meier was born on October 12, 1934, in Newark, New Jersey, United States. His birth name is Richard Meier. His nationality is American. Meier belongs to the White ethnicity while Libra is his zodiac sign.
Richard Meier was born to a Jewish family as the oldest of three sons of Carolyn Kaltenbacher(mother) and Jerome Meier(father). His father, Jerome was a wholesale wine and liquor salesman while his mother, Carolyn was a homemaker.
He grew up in nearby Maplewood, where he attended Columbia High School. After his high school graduation, he joined Cornell University thus graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1957.
Upon his graduation, Meier went on to travel to Israel, Greece, Germany, France, Denmark, Finland, and Italy, among other places, to visit with architects worldwide. Besides, Architect and theorist Peter Eisenman is his second cousin who is also a member of the “New York Five”, a group of five architects of New York City which includes Meier as well.
Source: @wikipedia
Richard Meier’s Architectural Career
- Richard Meier started his career initially working for Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill briefly in 1959.
- He then worked for Marcel Breuer for three years, eventually starting his own office, “Richard Meier & Partners” in 1963.
- He also started teaching at “Cooper Union”, which he continued till 1973.
- His earlier works that got him critical acclaim and significant attention are the “Smith House”(1965–67) in Darien, Connecticut and “Douglas House” in Harbor Springs, Michigan(1971-73).
- In 1972, he was identified as one of “The New York Five”, a group of modernist architects: Meier, Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, Charles Gwathmey, and John Hejduk.
- He further gained significant recognition for his designs of various residences, along with “The Atheneum” in New Harmony, Indiana(1979) and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia(1983).
- Designing “Getty Center”, a massive museum complex in Los Angeles, he went on to reach the biggest height.
- Today his company, “Richard Meier & Partners” is a renowned brand and has offices in New York and Los Angeles, with projects ranging from China and Tel Aviv to Paris and Hamburg.
- His work reflects the influences of other popular architects and designers especially Le Corbusier, Mies Van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Luis Barragán.
- In 1992, the government of France honored him with “Commander of Arts and Letters”.
- He continued to execute remarkable architectural designs in the 21st century: “West Village”(2002), “Jubilee Church”(2003), “City Tower”(2004-07), “San Jose City Hall”(2004-07), and “Weill Hall”(2008).
- In 2014, Meier opened a 15,000-square-foot exhibition space museum at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City.
- His major works include High Museum in Atlanta, the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, Meier on Rothschild, and Prospect Park.
- He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of several institutes and organizations including ‘Cooper-Hewitt Museum’, the ‘American Academy of Arts and Letters’ and the ‘American Academy’ in Rome.
Awards and Honors
- Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects and the American Institute of Architects.
- Premium Imperiale from the Japan Art Association.
- AIA Gold Medal
- A+ Lifetime Achievement Award
- Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.
- Pritzker Prize
Source: @wsj
Richard Meier’s Wife
Richard Meier was married to his only wife, Katherine Gormley. Gormley is also an architect with whom Meier shared two children: Ana Meier and Joseph Meier. However, the couple got divorced later.
Besides, back in March 2018, Meier was alleged of sexually harassing 5 women for which Meier responded by saying that he would take a leave of six months from his firm.
Also on April 6, 2018, an additional four women who formerly worked at Meier’s architecture firm came forward with allegations against him, thus announcing that his resignation was permanent.
The fact is that Meier never resigned and remains a presence in his office but only his image and title have been restored on the firm’s website.
Source: @nytimes
Richard Meier’s Net Worth
Richard Meier has quite great earnings from his professional career as an architect and abstract designer. Having his career started in the late 1950s, Meier managed to come a long way up becoming one of the renowned architects worldwide.
He even had his own office till his permanent resignation in 2018. Moreover, his artworks and design works have earned him quite a great fortune estimated to be around $15 million.
Richard Meier’s Height
Richard Meier is a good looking man in his 80s. He stands tall with a height of 5ft. 8inch while his body weighs around 80kg. He has a fair complexion with white hair, few patches on his face, and green eyes.
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