Inside the Wide World of Lari Pittman & Roy Dowel

For almost two decades, artists Lari Pittman and Roy Dowell inhabited a house in Los Angeles that was itself a work of art. Designed in 1952 by the famed architect Richard Neutra, the residence was situated on a hilltop in La Crescenta, north of Pasadena.

The couple later commissioned the architect Michael Maltzan to design a second home on the property. "There was an ethos of potential and projection into the future," says Pittman of living among great works of architecture.

A few years ago, however, as they neared their 70th birthdays, the artists decided to move back to the center of Los Angeles, near their studios. "We wanted a shorter commute and more exposure to the humanity of a denser population," Pittman says. There were other reasons, too: "Though mostly enjoyable, two houses and six acres created a tremendous amount of work," Dowell says. They were also retiring from their careers as visual-arts professors (Pittman at UCLA; Dowell at the Otis College of Art and Design) and wanted to devote more time to their art.