David S. Gebhard was a leading architectural historian, particularly known for his books on the architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

 and architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

s of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. He was a long-time faculty member at the University of California, Santa Barbara

University of California, Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...

, and was dedicated to the preservation

Historic preservation

Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...

 of Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...

 architecture.

Gebhard was born and raised in Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

; he received his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

 in 1958. He served, for six years, as director of the Roswell Museum and Art Center

Roswell Museum and Art Center

The Roswell Museum and Art Center is located in Roswell, New Mexico, and features exhibits about the art and history of the American Southwest. Exhibits include fine art, sculpture, prints, decorative arts, and historic artefacts....

 in New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

, before moving to UC Santa Barbara in 1961. As a teacher he inspired many students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In addition to his long teaching career, he served as director of the University Art Museum for twenty years, building a small gallery into a significant accredited university museum. In this position, he initiated the Architectural Drawings Collection, now one of the leading West Coast repositories for architectural materials. With Robert Winter

Robert Winter

Robert Winter is one of California's leading architectural historians. He is the Arthur G. Coons Professor of the History of Ideas, Emeritus, at Occidental College, Los Angeles. He is particularly known for his contributions to the history of the California branch of the Arts and Crafts...

 he co-authored guides to architecture in northern and southern California.

Gebhard was also active in service to his community, serving for many years on the Santa Barbara County Architectural Board of Review. He was active in the Society of Architectural Historians

Society of Architectural Historians

The Society of Architectural Historians is an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the study and preservation of the built environment worldwide....

, and served a term as its president in the 1980s.

The David Gebhard Memorial Lecture Series is an annual event sponsored by Pasadena Heritage, an architectural preservation organization in Pasadena, California

Pasadena, California

Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...

.

Books

A partial list of his published works (in chronological order) includes:

• Gebhard, David, Prehistoric Paintings of the Diablo Region, A Preliminary Report, Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell NM 1960.

• Gebhard, David, A Guide to the Existing Buildings of Purcell and Elmslie, 1910-1920, Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell NM 1960.

• Gebhard, David, Rudolf Schindler, Architect Viking Press, New York 1972, ISBN 0670620637 ; reprint Peregrine Smith, Santa Barbara 1980, ISBN 0879050772

• Gebhard, David, Charles F. A. Voysey, Hennessey & Ingalls, Los Angeles 1975, ISBN 0912158549

• Gebhard, David and Martinson, Tom, A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis MN 1977

• Gebhard, David, Winter, Robert, et al., The Guide to Architecture in Los Angeles and Southern California, Peregrine Smith, Santa Barbara 1977, ISBN 0879050497

• Gebhard, David et al., The Guide to Architecture in San Francisco and Northern California, Gibbs M. Smith Books, Salt Lake City 1985, ISBN 0879052023

• Gebhard, David, California Romanza: Frank Lloyd Wright in California, Chronicle Books, San Francisco 1988, ISBN 0877013799

• Gebhard, David, and Von Breton, Harriette, Los Angeles in the Thirties, 1931-1941, Peregrine Smith, Layton UT 1975, reprint Hennessey & Ingalls, Los Angeles 1989, ISBN 0912158980

• Gebhard, David, Lutah Maria Riggs: A Woman in Architecture, 1921-1980, Capra Press and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara 1992, ISBN 0884963527

• Gebhard, David and Mansheim, Gerald, Buildings of Iowa, Oxford University Press, New York, 1993

• Gebhard, David, photos by Anthony Peres, Robert Stacy Judd: Maya Architecture, The Creation of a New Style, Capra Press, Santa Barbara 1993, ISBN 0884963519

• Gebhard, David, The National Trust Guide to Art Deco in America, Wiley, New York; Preservation Press, Washington DC 1996, ISBN 0471143863

• Gebhard, David (edited by Patricia Gebhard), Purcell & Elmslie: Prairie Progressive Architects, Gibbs Smith, Salt Lake City 2006, ISBN 1423600053