Architecture, Idealism, and the Quiet Threads Connecting Him to Rome

The American Academy in Rome mourns the passing of Frank O. Gehry, our Trustee (1989-1993) and Trustee Emeritus, who died on December 5, 2025, at his home in Santa Monica, California. He was 96.

We remember an architect whose work consistently balanced audacity with thoughtfulness—from the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao to the Walt Disney Concert Hall and socially engaged endeavors like the master plan to rehabilitate the Los Angeles River. His buildings redefined what architecture could be while reflecting an enduring concern for space, material, technology, and conscious human experience. Gehry's forms commanded attention, but it was the intelligence behind them that revealed his lasting influence.

His connection to the Academy was not about imprinting his own legacy but rather about supporting an institution that cultivates the very conditions he valued: dialogue across disciplines, time for experimentation, and the communal rhythms that make creative breakthroughs possible.

A Night of Celebration and Gratitude

Those values were on full display on April 13, 2011, when the Academy honored Gehry alongside Paul LeClerc at the Centenary Celebration Dinner in New York, paying tribute to the hundred years that the Academy has been "a place where minds meet." The night brought together Fellows, Trustees, supporters, and artists from across generations, chaired by Mercedes T. Bass and guided by then-President Adele Chatfield-Taylor.

Rather than speak about his own work in his acceptance remarks, Gehry spoke about others: Michael Graves (1962 Fellow), Ed Ruscha (a longtime supporter of the Academy), and scholars like Irving and Marilyn Lavin (Fellows of the 1950s)—colleagues whose friendships he cherished for many years, and whose time at the Academy had shaped their own thinking. He emphasized the Academy's outsized impact, describing the way Rome gave these artists and architects a deeper sense of continuity, curiosity, and connection. He framed their experiences as part of a shared lineage of inquiry—a reminder that innovation often grows from collective effort and mutual inspiration.

Architecture as Movement and Life

This emphasis on others mirrors a central duality in Gehry's career. While he created some of the most visually striking buildings of our generation, he remained attentive to how architecture interacts with people and communities. As Irving Lavin, AAR Resident in 1972 and 1979, observed, "Frank Gehry's buildings do something that no building had ever done before—they move."

Gehry's architecture is alive, engaging perception, space, and experience in ways that extend beyond the static image or the façade. It is this sense of vitality, responsiveness, and risk-taking that characterizes both his most monumental projects and his smaller, experimental works. Critics such as Paul Goldberger articulated this more complex understanding of Gehry: he was an architect deeply attuned to the subtler, slower work of culture—the necessity of shared intellectual space, and the importance of supporting environments where others can take risks.

Gehry rejected the idea that architecture's purpose was merely to produce objects of spectacle, even as he mastered the art of creating them. The point, he often suggested, was to energize public life—to shape places where people could gather, question, and imagine.

Returning to Rome: Fish Lamps and Formal Play

Aligned with that experimental spirit, Gehry approached the creation of objects from a purely artistic angle when he returned to Rome for an exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery featuring his sculptural Fish Lamps in 2016. These objects—playful and dynamic—demonstrate the same concern for human-scale interaction, material inventiveness, and formal exploration that runs through his architectural practice. In both grand buildings and intimate objects, Gehry's work embodies a curiosity about the ways we move through and inhabit space.

A Lineage of Architectural Thought

The Academy has long been a crossroads for architectural thinking. Recent fellows and residents include Germane Barnes (2022 Fellow), Yasmin Vobis (2017 Fellow), Susan Chin and Lesley Lokko (2025–26 residents), alongside earlier figures like Robert Venturi (Fellow 1956, Resident 1967) and Michael Graves (Fellow 1962, Resident 1979). Each generation of architects has been shaped by the Academy's commitment to protecting time for dialogue and experimentation across cultures and perspectives.

Gehry belongs to that lineage, not because Rome defined him, but because he recognized and supported the conditions that allow diverse voices and innovative thinking to emerge. He understood that architectural excellence requires time, community, and the space to experiment—values the Academy has upheld for over a century and continues to champion in an increasingly global profession.

A Legacy of Daring and Generosity

In remembering Frank Gehry, we celebrate both his formal daring and his intellectual generosity. His buildings inspire and amaze, but they also remind us that architecture is, radically and at its core, about inhabiting space thoughtfully, connecting people to one another, and imagining new possibilities.

The Academy will carry forward Gehry's example: his belief in supporting the next generation, his commitment to environments where creativity flourishes, and his understanding that the most transformative work emerges not from isolated genius but from dialogue, experiment, and shared purpose. His vision will continue to shape how we think about what architecture—and institutional support for the arts—can achieve.