Frank Gehry designed some of the world’s most recognizable cultural landmarks, from museums like the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris and the Guggenheim in Bilbao to Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago. Gehry died on December 5 at age 96.
Over the weekend, many figures in the worlds of art and architecture remembered Gehry for his groundbreaking designs and outsize personality. On Instagram, artist Rob Pruitt posted a photo of his living room with one of Gehry’s “cross check” armchairs in the corner by the window, while Serpentine Galleries artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist posted an image of a letter signed by Gehry reading “inspiration curiosity which comes first?”
Below, a collection of remembrances from art world and cultural figures.
Miren Arzalluz, director general of the Guggenheim Bilbao
Today is a sad day for the worlds of art and architecture due to the passing of one of their masters and a very dear member of the Guggenheim family. We will forever be grateful to Frank Gehry, and his spirit and legacy will always remain connected to Bilbao.
Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH
I am profoundly saddened by the passing of Frank Gehry, in whom I lose a very dear friend and for whom I shall forever retain boundless admiration. I owe to him one of the longest, most intense, and most ambitious creative partnerships I have ever had the privilege to experience.
Stephanie Barron, senior curator and department head of modern art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Frank Gehry was my first friend in Los Angeles. I met him at a party in New York a few days before I flew to L.A. to start my job at LACMA in January 1976—just almost 50 years ago. Frank asked me, “If you don’t know anyone in town can I take you to dinner on Sunday?” Thus began our friendship and a working relationship that has spanned nearly my entire career at LACMA. […]
If you were fortunate enough to be a friend of Frank’s it was for life. He cared about you, about your family, about your well being. He was always curious. He loved his family: his wife Berta and their sons Sam and Alejandro, his daughter Brina, his two granddaughters, and his sister Doreen. He loved music and musicians. He loved art and artists. He loved people. I am devastated by the loss of my dear friend Frank. I hope there’s sailing and a great boat waiting for you in the next life my friend.
Katherine E. Fleming, president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust
The Getty community grieves the death of Frank Gehry, a true legend of architecture whose designs and brilliance have shaped Los Angeles and the world.
In 2017, Getty was honored to be chosen as the owner and steward of a portion of Gehry’s extensive archive, focusing on the era from the beginning of his career in 1954 until he received the Pritzker Prize in 1989, which includes thousands of drawings, models, and sketches. It is by far the largest architectural archive in Getty’s collection. In 2023, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the opening of Walt Disney Concert Hall, Getty presented Modeling Sound, an exhibition that included six original models of the building, as well as Sculpting Harmony, an online exploration of the concert hall’s design. For years before acquiring the archives, Getty enjoyed a close relationship with Gehry, who served on the Design Advisory Committee for the Getty Center in the 1990s and who received the Getty Medal in 2015. Through Gehry’s archive, Getty will share his legacy for many years to come.
Great as he was as an architect, Frank Gehry was even greater as a friend and person — generous, hilarious, eternally playful. We join the world in mourning this enormous loss.
Mariët Westermann, director and CEO of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation
The Guggenheim community mouns the loss of Frank Gehry, whose visionary architecture reshaped our institution and changed cities around the world. From Bilbao to Abu Dhabi, Frank’s genius magnified the Guggenheim’s mission and showed why museum architecture matters. . . . Our decades-long collab with Frank and Gehry Partners was built on friendship, shared values, and an unwavering belief in art’s power to transform lives. Frank’s legacy will inspire generations to come. We are so grateful.
Gustavo Dudamel, music and artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela
My beloved Pancho. Today your beautiful spirit expands out into the infinite, filling us all with your inspiration and your generosity for eternity. Thank you for your friendship, for your guidance, for your dedication, and for your immense love. Honor y Gloria eterna.
Martino Stierli, chief curator of architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art
We will miss his formal and technological bravura, but also his humanity and support for communities in the arts.
Paul Goldberger, architecture critic and Gehry biographer
How grateful am I for the 50 years of conservation that were the foundation of this book. [Building Art: The Life and Work of Frank Gehry, published in 2015.] There is still so much more to say. But now it will not come from Frank Gehry himself, but from his work, and what it continues to give us.
Norman Foster, architect
Gehry was “a dear friend and one of the greatest architects of our time.”
Cindy Pritzker, cofounder of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, which named Gehry a laureate in 1989
If I could see the world through anyone’s eyes, it would be Frank’s.
Lorenzo Fiaschi, co-director of Galleria Continua
Dear Frank, wonderful Frank, it has been an honor to know you and to share unforgettable moments, from Bilbao to Paris, from Arles to Abu Dhabi. It is an honor for the whole world to experience your brilliant creations, and thanks to them you will always be with us. Your long, magnificent life is an example for all of us.
