Paul Nelson, the Forgotten Man of French Modern Architecture

Published on 09 November 2021, by Andrew Ayers

The Centre Pompidou in Paris is devoting a small—though nevertheless rich and concise—retrospective to one of the principal protagonists within the modernist movement in France and a specialist in hospital architecture. It is a fitting tribute to his ingenuity.

Paul Nelson, WGN Broadcasting Headquarters, project for the competition with Fernand... Paul Nelson, the Forgotten Man of French Modern Architecture

Paul Nelson, WGN Broadcasting Headquarters, project for the competition with Fernand Léger, Chicago, 1938, interior perspective of the auditorium, oil pastels, colored pencils and graphite on tracing paper, 36.5 x 45.5 cm.
Paul Nelson © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/Georges Meguerditchian/Dist. RMN-GP

Born in Chicago, Nelson (1895-1979) discovered France as a pilot and returned, like so many American artists, to study the discipline at the École des Beaux-Arts. From 1920 until his death, he almost never left France. A student of the pioneering architect Auguste Perret (1874-1954), a good friend of Braque and Fernand Léger , son-in-law of François…

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