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Male, born 1889-03-30, died 1950-05-09


Professional History

Résumé

Captain, Principal, 18th United States Engineers American Expeditionary Forces, c. 1918.

Harold O. Sexsmith, Architectural Designer, Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA, c. 1938. Sexsmith designed at designed the Streamline Moderne Jacobson Duplex, a house notable for its small size and careful use of space. In various articles in the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere, Sexsmith became a theorist on small home design.

Teaching

Instructor, University of Washington, Seattle (UW), Seattle, WA, c. 1914-1917. Sexsmith was both an artist who taught drawing classes in UW's Art and Architecture Departments. (According to the UW Catalog of 1917, he taught in the Department of Architecture. City directories indicated that he worked in the UW Architecture Department until c. 1923.)

Instructor, Los Angeles State Normal School, Los Angeles, CA, c. 1924- .

Professional Activities

Members of the Washington State Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) bestowed junior membership on Sexsmith in a late 1914 meeting. He received full membership in late 1920. (See "New Members Elected," Journal of the American Institute of Architects, vol. IX, no. 1, 01/1921, p. 58.) He was a full member of the AIA from 1920-1928, according to AIA records. (See "Harold O. Sexsmith," American Institute of Architects Historical Directory of American Architects, accessed 06/20/2014.)

Archives

Millwork drawings and patterns drawn by Sexsmith are preserved at the Architecture and Design Collection, Art, Design & Architecture Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). The scope and contents note indicated: "The Harold O. Sexsmith millwork drawings span 3 linear feet and date from 1918 to 1933. The collection is composed of 19 original architectural drawings of millwork details (18 original and one blueprint). Some drawings are annotated in pencil with mention of a project or client. The collection is also composed of tearsheets from Architecture, dating 1918 and 1921, as well as 46 millwork patterns published by the Millwork Institute of California." (See "Finding Aid for the Harold O. Sexsmith millwork drawings and patterns, 1918-1933 0000310," accessed 06/20/2014.)

Education

Coursework, Armour Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, c. 1910; coursework, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, (SAIC), Chicago, IL.

Personal

Relocation

Sexsmith received his university training in Chicago, IL, and moved to Seattle, WA, before World War I. By 1924, he had moved to Southern CA, where he taught at the institution preceding UCLA, the Los Angeles State Normal School.

Sexsmith died in Southern CA, and was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, CA.


PCAD id: 6779