William J. R. Curtis

Who is William J. R. Curtis?

William J. R. Curtis is an architectural historian whose writings have focused on twentieth century architecture. Curtis seems particularly interested in broadening the "canon" to include a wider range of architects working across the world.

Curtis was educated at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, and Harvard University. He has taught history and theory of architecture in the United States, Mexico, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Curtis's most important work is Modern Architecture Since 1900, first published in 1982, and now in its third edition. This book won the Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain in 1984. The third edition was awarded the architecture book prize of the American Institute of Architects in 1997. In 2006 the Museum of Finnish Architecture awarded Curtis its Commemoration Medal of Foundation on the occasion of the Museum's 50th Anniversary.

Curtis currently lives in southwestern France.