Getty Presents “Paul R. Williams: Architecture Across the Color Line”

The groundbreaking career of architect Paul R. Williams (1894-1980) was a triumph of unprecedented proportions—from being orphaned at the age of four to designing houses for Frank Sinatra, Lucy and Desi Arnaz, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, and many others. As the first Black architect licensed in the western United States, Williams was prolific and, he redefined conceptions of who and what could represent the practice of architecture.

On view at the Getty Center, “Paul R. Williams: Architecture Across the Color Line,” open Dec. 15, 2026—March 14, 2027, focuses primarily on Williams’s work for the Black community, examining the impact of his architecture within and against systems of racialized exclusion, while offering an intimate portrait of life, hope, and possibility central to understanding Black Los Angeles in the 20th century.

Through drawings, photographs, and archival materials, this exhibition traces Williams’s journey from his early education and professional training to his emergence as one of the nation’s most accomplished architects, before examining the preservation of his archive and enduring legacy.

“While internationally celebrated for designing luxury homes for Hollywood celebrities and prominent clients, Williams was equally committed to designing homes for Black families and collaborating with Black developers to expand access to quality housing,” says Andrew Perchuk, Interim Director of the Getty Research Institute. “His work ranged from grand estates to civic monuments, and affordable housing developments, demonstrating a practice that spanned social, economic, and cultural boundaries.”

Throughout much of the 20th century, legal and informal systems of segregation shaped the American landscape by limiting access to housing, financial services, and opportunity for many African American, Latino, and Asian American communities. Racially restrictive covenants barred “non-whites” from occupying specific plots of land, while a practice known as redlining enabled banks and lenders to deny access to mortgages and insurance for marginalized communities. The story is often told of how Williams learned to draw upside down for the benefit of white clients who did not want to sit next to him, but with amazing fortitude he was able to play a key role constructing for and with communities across the color line that reshaped Los Angeles’s built environment.

After graduating from Polytechnic High School’s architecture program in 1912, Williams pursued further studies at the University of Southern California, the Los Angeles School of Art and Design, and the Los Angeles Atelier of the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design. He strengthened his skills through architectural competitions and apprenticeships with leading firms before earning his architecture license in 1921.

As Williams’s influence grew during the postwar decades, so too did his public stature. Williams became a prominent cultural figure whose appointments to civic commissions, nonprofit boards, and professional organizations reflected his national reputation. His mentorship of younger Black architects further extended his impact, helping shape future generations of design professionals.

A major focus of the exhibition is the remarkable preservation and conservation of Williams’s archive. Long believed to have been destroyed in a fire, the archive was carefully preserved by the Williams family before being acquired by the Getty Research Institute and USC School of Architecture. Under this partnership, Getty undertook an extensive conservation initiative to stabilize, preserve, and catalog thousands of architectural drawings and archival materials documenting Williams’s independent practice.

Among the exhibition’s highlights are drawings documenting Williams’s own residence and architectural office, projects that embodied both personal achievement and professional identity while challenging the racial barriers of mid-century Los Angeles. The exhibition also highlights ongoing efforts to preserve Williams’s built legacy. Historic landmarks including the 28th Street YMCA, Second Baptist Church, original Angelus Funeral Home, and Williams’s residence have undergone significant restoration in recent years, with original drawings from the archive informing many of these conservation projects. Together, the preservation of both the archive and Williams’s buildings represents an act of historical recovery, restoring the legacy of one of the 20th century’s most influential architects while illuminating the broader history of Black Los Angeles.

Getty is one of three Los Angeles institutions, along with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and USC Fisher Museum, presenting coordinated exhibitions celebrating Williams beginning this fall. USC Fisher Museum’s “Paul R. Williams: An Architect Considered” will be on view Aug. 18, 2026, through March 13, 2027, while LACMA’s “Paul R. Williams: Architect for Living” will be on view from Nov. 15, 2026, through May 31, 2027.

“Paul R. Williams: Architecture Across the Color Line” is curated by LeRonn P. Brooks, Curator, African American Art History Initiative, Maristella Casciato, Senior Curator, Gary Riichirō Fox, Assistant Curator, and Alex Jones, Curatorial Assistant, at the Getty Research Institute.

Accompanying the exhibition, Getty Publications will release “I Am an Architect: Paul R. Williams and His Archive”, the first archival research-based book on Williams, which features a range of essays by the curators from all three institutions.

Continue the conversation at Black Portraiture[s]: Los Angeles: The Black Build Environment which examines the historicity and rich panoply encompassing the Black built environment, both physical and imagined.