The Palm Springs School: Desert Modernism 1934-1975
6 p.m. Tuesday, March 11, 2025

UCR Palm Desert, 75080 Frank Sinatra Dr. 
Contact: palmdesert@ucr.edu

About the lecture: Using a striking selection of architectural photographs, Janice Lyle and Sidney Williams will present an entertaining look at the complicated three-year process of shepherding the Palm Springs School book project to completion. They will discuss the issues that needed to be addressed to ensure that a new book about Palm Springs architecture was meaningful and noteworthy. The basic concepts of the Palm Springs School, as outlined by author Alan Hess, will be shared. The insightful perspectives of the five essayists who place Palm Springs in the national conversation about midcentury modern architecture will provide further understanding. Lyle and Williams will bring you behind the scenes of book publishing where the twofold goals were to define the Palm Springs School of Architecture and to achieve international distribution.

Bios: 
Janice Lyle: Director of the Sunnylands Center & Gardens from 2008-2022, Janice Lyle oversaw the restoration of the historic Annenberg estate, the construction of the public center and gardens, and the building of the administrative campus. She managed a professional team responsible for the preservation, interpretation, and public aspects of Sunnylands. Prior to joining Sunnylands, Janice was the Executive Director of the Palm Springs Desert (now Art) Museum from 1994 to 2007 and Director of Public Programs for the previous 10 years. She is the author of Sunnylands: America’s Midcentury Masterpiece (Vendome); has written numerous articles and lectured extensively on modern architecture, preservation, and museum topics; and served on numerous nonprofit boards, including as president of the California Association of Museums. Janice received her Master of Arts and her PhD in art history from the University of California, Santa Barbara. 

Sidney Williams: From 1996 to 2016, Sidney Williams was director of education and public programs before becoming curator of architecture and design at the Palm Springs Art Museum. She was the founding curator of the Architecture and Design Center after an historic rehabilitation of a 1961 bank building. She has written several books on modern architecture and has lectured extensively on architecture and preservation. As a co-founder of the Palm Springs Architectural Alliance, she is actively engaged in projects that promote an understanding of Palm Springs’ architectural excellence. She holds a BA from the University of British Columbia and a master’s degree in art history from UCLA.


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