Victor Alfred Lundy (February 1, 1923 – November 4, 2024) was an American architect. An exemplar of

modernist architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural architectural movement, movement and architectural style, style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco Architectu ...

, he was one of the leaders of the

Sarasota School of Architecture The Sarasota School of Architecture, sometimes called Sarasota Modern, is a regional style of post-war modern architecture (1941–1966) that emerged on Florida's Central West Coast, in and around the city of Sarasota, Florida. It is characterize ...

. His Warm Mineral Springs Motel, outside Warm Mineral Springs, Florida, is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Lundy was born in New York City on February 1, 1923. He first studied at the NYU School of Architecture and Applied Arts. There he was influenced by the school’s Beaux-Arts program. After the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the air force and was then assigned to the Army Specialized Training program. Lundy was wounded in combat yet remained on active duty until October of 1945. Once released from military service, he continued his education at Harvard where he studied under masters in the

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

style of Architecture. He was honored by the Smithsonian on his 90th birthday in 2013. A film on his life and work, entitled "Victor Lundy: Sculptor of Space" was premiered by the GSA on February 25, 2014. Lundy turned 100 in February 2023, and died on November 4, 2024, at the age of 101.

Work

* Drive-In Church, Venice, FL (1954). Demolished. * Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce (Pagoda Building), Sarasota, FL (1956) * South Gate Community Center, Sarasota, FL (1956) * Silver Springs tourist center ow called Victor Lundy Tourist Center Silver Springs, Florida (1957) * Bee Ridge Presbyterian Church, Sarasota, FL (1957) * Alta Vista Elementary School, a.k.a. The "Butterfly Wing," Sarasota, FL (1957) * Joe Barth Insurance Office, Sarasota, FL (1957) * Herron House, Venice, FL (1957) * Waldman Building, 533 S. US 301 (1958) * Warm Mineral Springs Motel, North Port, FL (1958) * St. Paul's Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall (1959) and Sanctuary (1969), Sarasota, FL * Galloway Furniture Showroom, Sarasota, FL oday, Visionworks(1959) * First Unitarian Church, Westport, CT (1960) * United States Embassy, Colombo, Sri Lanka (1961-1985) Demolished early 2023. * Sierra Blanca (New Mexico) Ski Apache Ski Resort Lodge (1961) * Hillspoint Elementary School, Westport CT (1962) * "Bubble Pavilions" for the New York World's Fair of 1964–65 (The Brass Rail Snack Bars) *Unitarian Meeting House, Hartford, CT (1964) * IBM Garden State Office, Cranford, NJ (1965) * Church of the Resurrection Harlem, New York City (1966) Demolished. * Wesley Foundation Chapel of the Upper Room, FSU, Tallahassee, FL (1970) Demolished 2015. * St. Bernard's School Education Building, Gladstone, NJ (1970) * Lundy Residence in Aspen, Colorado (1972) * U.S. Tax Court Building, Washington, D.C. (completed 1974) * Austin Centre, Austin, Texas (1986) * One Congress Plaza, Austin, Texas (1987)

World War II Sketches by Victor A. Lundy

Lundy is also well known for his World War II Sketches that were donated to the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

in 2009. In 1942, Lundy was 19, studying to be an architect in New York City. He was enlisted in the Army Specialised Training Program (ASTP). During 1944, he joined the 104th Infantry Division, a sub-division of the 26th Infantry division of the US Army. He trained at Fort Jackson, before sailing from New York departing on 27 August 1944, to

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

, arriving on 7 September 1944. He spent time in Normandy in September before moving to the Western Front by November. He drew out his experiences from training at Fort Jackson (May 1944) to his journey across the Atlantic and then his time in France. In total, he produced a visual diary with 158 pencil sketches brings to life the wartime experience. Lundy applied his drawing skills to what was around him--training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina; forced marches; men at rest; the PX and tents; New York Harbor; aboard ship in the Atlantic crossing; Cherbourg Harbor; and French villages. Many vivid portraits of fellow soldiers and frontline danger also fill the pages. The sketches cover May to November 1944 when Lundy was wounded, with some gaps where notebooks were lost. The eight surviving sketchbooks are spiral bound and 3 x 5 inches --small enough to fit in a breast pocket. Lundy used black Hardtmuth leads (a drawing pencil) and sketched quickly. "For me, drawing is sort of synonymous with thinking."Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, World War Two sketches by Victor Lundy
/ref> Lundy's sketches inspired the following books.
"Drawn from War: The Sketches of Sergeant Victor A. Lundy"
by Richard O'Hara, a compilation of Lundy's sketches and transcripts of interviews with Lundy.
Normandy 1944
by Alberto Pérez Rubio of Desperta Ferro Ediciones, a Madrid-based publisher focusing on military history.
The English GI: World War II Graphic Memoir
a graphic novel adaptation of an Englishman, Bernard Sandler, who also served in the 26th Infantry Division in France at the same time as Lundy.

Work

World War II Sketches by Victor A. Lundy

See also

References

Further reading