From sleek new industrial materials to innovations in housing the baby boom generation, the pioneers of design in the middle of the 20th century faced new challenges in shaping a design aesthetic that would embrace the ideals of post-WWII America and Europe. Through lecture and slide illustration, this talk explores a new optimism in the relationship between design and lifestyle in the mid-20th century as manifested in open living spaces in architecture and curvaceous, biomorphic forms in furniture, lighting, and other decorative arts. The influence of the Case Study Program and the works of such design luminaries as Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, Joseph Eichler, Isamu Noguchi, Arne Jacobsen, and the furniture of Knoll and Herman Miller will be discussed against the backdrop of the rapid social changes of the times.

Eleanor Schrader is an award-winning educator, lecturer, and author. She lectures worldwide on art and architectural history, and leads art and architecture tours throughout the world. She has been named a Distinguished Instructor at UCLA Extension, where she teaches history of architecture, interior design, furniture, and decorative arts. She is also Professor Emeritus of Art and Architectural History at Santa Monica College. She has done graduate work in fine and decorative arts at Sotheby's Institute in London and New York. She has served as a Design Review Commissioner for the City of Beverly Hills and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the John Lautner Foundation.

The Fifty and Better (FAB) program was designed for people 50 years of age and older, seeking intellectual stimulation through university-level courses — without the pressure of grades — for the sake of learning and social engagement.

This lecture can be attended either virtually on Zoom or in-person at Cal Lutheran's Thousand Oaks campus. It will also be recorded.