I Am an Architect: Paul R. Williams and His Archive

Available January 2027

Edited by LeRonn P. Brooks and Gary Riichirō Fox

Discover the visionary legacy of the groundbreaking architect Paul R. Williams, one of the first Black members of the American Institute of Architects.

Paul R. Williams (1894–1980), among the first Black members of the American Institute of Architects, was a defining force in shaping the city of Los Angeles and Southern California, yet his impact was undoubtedly global.

Threading together Williams’s biography, social histories of Los Angeles, and transformations in the profession, this richly researched monograph traces his remarkable career against the evolving landscape of Los Angeles and the wider architectural world. 

• Presents the first research-driven monograph on preeminent architect Paul R. Williams.
• Features nearly 200 images, including many never-before published drawings, renderings, and archival materials.
• Williams’s expansive oeuvre spans everything from early residential commissions in the 1920s to civic, religious, commercial, and cultural landmarks that came to define Los Angeles’s identity at midcentury.
• Examines the intersection of race, space, and professional practice in twentieth-century American architecture.
• Highlights Williams’s commitment to designing for Black communities and advancing social change through architecture.

Step into the world of a visionary who transformed cities and challenged barriers—this volume invites you to get to know Paul R. Williams and the enduring power of architecture to shape society.

This volume is published to accompany an exhibition on view at the Fisher Museum of Art at the University of Southern California from August 18, 2026, to March 13, 2027, Los Angeles County Museum of Art from November 15, 2026, to May 31, 2027, and Getty Research Institute at the Getty Center from December 16, 2026, to July 18, 2027.

LeRonn P. Brooks is an art historian and curator of the African American Art History Initiative at the Getty Research Institute. Gary Riichirō Fox is assistant curator of architecture at the Getty Research Institute.

“I Am an Architect: Paul R. Williams and His Archive is a welcome and necessary contribution to architectural history, one that gives a fresh perspective on Paul R. Williams by extending beyond just the common knowledge of this celebrated figure to engage with the complexities of both the person and the work. Insightful essays are coupled with Williams’s incredible drawings and edifying photographs of his buildings, all of which offer a peek into the architect’s immense archive of work. This is a critical resource for anyone interested in modern architecture.”
—Jay Cephas, Princeton University

“With diverse visual materials and deeply reflective essays on different aspects of Paul R. Williams’s distinguished career and unique, important archive, I Am an Architect: Paul R. Williams and His Archive is at once an illuminating descriptive survey, a critical introduction to the architect, an instructive model, and an essential reference for further study of the intersection of history and identity in US American architecture.”
—Shantel Blakely, author of “The Architecture of Charles E. Fleming,” in Design Agendas; Assistant Professor, Rice University

“Paul R. Williams achieved extraordinary success in his decades-long career, and I Am an Architect reveals the vast range of his work and the richness of its manifestations, from affordable housing to luxurious homes, from public schools to city plans. As the authors compellingly demonstrate—accompanied by stunning drawings from Williams’s firm—his virtuosity encompassed not just architectural form but also a deeply humane vision of society and community. This will be the first stop for all subsequent research on this profoundly important twentieth-century figure.”
—Brian D. Goldstein, author of Max Bond: The Life and Work of the People’s Architect

280 pages
10 x 12 inches
182 color and 27 b/w illustrations
ISBN 979-8-88712-070-6
hardcover

Getty Publications
Imprint: Getty Research Institute

2027