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| Giraffe House, Audubon Zoo, New Orleans, 1957, Curtis and Davis, architects. Frank Lotz Miller, photographer. |
This week we welcomed our spring 2018 Tulane School of Architecture intern, Rene Duplantier. Rene's project is to create a digitized online collection of images from our holdings of the architectural photography of Frank Lotz Miller. Rene will create metadata and scan original Miller photographic negatives and prints of modernist buildings by New Orleans architectural firms including Burk, LeBreton, and Lamantia; Lawrence and Saunders; Curtis and Davis; Nolan, Norman, and Nolan; and August Perez, Jr. and Associates.
Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Frank Lotz Miller (1923-1993) moved with his family to New Orleans during his childhood. He became interested in photography while a teenager, and after graduating from Tulane University, he went on to work for New Orleans photographer, C. Bennette Moore. In 1953 he opened his own studio at 1115 Washington Avenue in the Garden District of New Orleans.
While most recognized for his architectural photography, Miller was also known for portraits, commercial photography of fashion and food, and carnival and debutante balls.
Miller was an award winning photographer, and was featured in the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company's Architectural Photographers Invitational brochure in 1973. His work appeared in regional New Orleans and Louisiana publications, as well as national journals and magazines including Progressive Architecture, Architectural Forum, Architectural Record, and Interiors. Miller was the go-to photographer for New Orleans architectural firms from the 1950s through the 1980s. While most of his work was situated in the region, firms such as Curtis and Davis hired Miller to travel to photograph their work in New York, California, Germany, and Vietnam. Miller's photographs are often compared to well-known mid-20th century architectural photographers Ezra Stoller and Julius Shulman.
SEAA collections that include work by Frank Lotz Miller--
AIA-New Orleans Chapter Records
William T. Nolan Office Records
James R. Lamantia, Jr. Office Records and Collection
Curtis and Davis Project Photographs
August Perez, III and Associates Project Photographs
For a sampling of Miller's work, see SEAA's 2005 online exhibit.
