American Legacy
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Roberto Burle Marx and American Modernism
'The real creator of the modern garden.'
— American Institute of Architects, 1965
Introduction
Throughout his career, Roberto Burle Marx maintained a remarkable dialogue with many of the leading architects, landscape architects and designers who shaped twentieth-century American modernism. Their correspondence reveals an international exchange of ideas across disciplines and national boundaries, placing Burle Marx at the centre of one of the most influential modernist networks of the twentieth century.
A Shared Modernist Vision
Roberto Burle Marx's relationships with leading architects, landscape architects and designers in the United States reflected a shared commitment to redefining the relationship between nature, architecture and the modern city. Although each developed a distinctive approach, they were united by a belief that landscape should play an essential role in shaping human experience.
For Roberto Burle Marx, correspondence was an essential instrument of professional exchange. Through letters, he discussed projects, shared ideas, maintained long-standing professional relationships and participated in an international dialogue on architecture, landscape architecture, urbanism and ecology. His correspondence reveals that he was not an isolated Brazilian designer, but an active participant in one of the twentieth century's most influential international networks of modern thought.
Today, these historic connections continue to demonstrate the international significance of Roberto Burle Marx's legacy and provide a strong foundation for the Foundation's collaborations with institutions, universities and cultural organisations across the United States.
A Network of Modernist Thinkers
Walter Gropius
Founder of the Bauhaus, Walter Gropius visited Brazil in January 1954 with his wife, the designer and writer Ise Frank, as a member of the jury for the II São Paulo Bienal's International Exhibition of Architecture. Roberto Burle Marx welcomed the couple to Rio de Janeiro and accompanied them on visits to several of his gardens, including the garden of Odette Monteiro, in Corrêas, Petrópolis. Their correspondence reveals a relationship of mutual intellectual respect and a shared concern for architecture, urbanism and the future of the natural environment.
"I entirely share your point of view on architecture, above all when referring to urbanism... It is very selfish to think only of the present, instead of thinking of the future."
— Roberto Burle Marx to Walter Gropius, Rio de Janeiro, 2 April 1954.
Josep Lluís Sert
Catalan architect Josep Lluís Sert, who settled in the United States in 1939 and was appointed Dean of Harvard University's Graduate School of Design in 1953, first visited Brazil in January 1954 together with Walter Gropius for the II São Paulo Biennial's International Exhibition of Architecture. After returning to the United States, Sert invited Roberto Burle Marx to deliver a lecture at Harvard's Department of Landscape Architecture.
At the time, Burle Marx was simultaneously preparing his exhibition for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., reflecting the growing international recognition of his work and the close professional relationship that developed between the two men.
"I've already prepared my speech for the lecture and feel greatly honoured by your invitation."
— Roberto Burle Marx to Josep Lluís Sert, Rio de Janeiro, 28 April 1954.
Eero Saarinen
Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen and his wife, the journalist and architecture critic Aline Bernstein Saarinen, welcomed Roberto Burle Marx to their home during his visit to the United States in 1954. Their correspondence reveals a friendship founded on mutual admiration, professional exchange and a shared belief that architecture must be experienced directly rather than understood only through photographs.
Burle Marx praised Saarinen’s architecture for its honesty, proportion and attention to detail, while expressing his wish to collaborate on one of Saarinen’s future projects. The correspondence also reflects the growing international recognition of Burle Marx’s work following his exhibition in Washington and Aline Saarinen’s article in The New York Times.
“One can’t judge, can one, from architectural photos or even slides, so that when one can study the work in situ, one’s emotion is a hundred times greater, and the impact is direct.”
— Roberto Burle Marx to Eero and Aline Saarinen, Rio de Janeiro, 20 August 1954.
Richard Neutra
Austrian-born American architect Richard Neutra and Roberto Burle Marx developed a professional relationship that resulted in two significant collaborations: the gardens for the Alfred de Schulthess Residence near Havana, Cuba, and a mural for the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America building in Los Angeles. Their correspondence reveals not only mutual admiration, but also an active exchange of ideas and projects between two of the leading figures of twentieth-century modern architecture and landscape design.
Burle Marx also reflects on the nature of tropical gardens, observing that their full expression can only be appreciated over time as trees and palms mature, a perspective that reflects his long-term vision of landscape design.
"I know that a garden only begins to take on the right expression a few years after its planting, principally because of the development of the larger volumes such as trees, palms etc."
— Roberto Burle Marx to Richard Neutra, Rio de Janeiro, 11 May 1957.
Ian McHarg
Scottish landscape architect Ian McHarg, founder of the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania and later author of the influential book Design with Nature, invited Roberto Burle Marx to contribute material on his work to a research project then underway.
In response, Burle Marx offered to send documentation of several recent projects, including the Parque del Este in Caracas and the landscape design for the Faculty of Architecture at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, together with other completed gardens. The correspondence reflects his willingness to contribute to the international exchange of knowledge in landscape architecture.
"I am very interested in the outcome of your project and hope that my contribution will aid its success."
— Roberto Burle Marx to Ian McHarg, Rio de Janeiro, 8 June 1961.
Thomas Church
One of the leading figures of modern American landscape architecture, Thomas Church was instrumental in redefining twentieth-century landscape design by promoting a more natural relationship between architecture, gardens and everyday life.
His correspondence with Roberto Burle Marx began in the late 1940s. In 1948, Church invited Burle Marx to contribute drawings and photographs to a landscape architecture exhibition organised by the California Association of Landscape Architects and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Unfortunately, the invitation never reached Burle Marx, who believed it had been lost within Brazil's Ministry of Education.
Writing from Rio de Janeiro on 5 March 1949, Burle Marx explained the misunderstanding, expressed his enthusiasm for future collaboration, and described several projects then occupying his attention. Among them was his collaboration with Oscar Niemeyer on the Burton Tremaine House in Santa Barbara, California, commissioned by the American collector Burton Tremaine.
Although never built, the project's presentation drawings and model were later donated to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, where they remain in the museum's permanent collection.
The letter also illustrates the breadth of Burle Marx's international professional relationships. He mentions preparing an exhibition in São Paulo and sending photographs to Harvard University and to fellow landscape architect Garrett Eckbo, reflecting the increasing recognition of his work in the United States.
"It would have been of the greatest interest to me to collaborate with such a distinguished and alive association as yours."
— Roberto Burle Marx to Thomas Church, Rio de Janeiro, 5 March 1949.
Garrett Eckbo
American landscape architect Garrett Eckbo was one of the leading pioneers of modern landscape architecture in the United States. His correspondence with Roberto Burle Marx reveals a relationship based on mutual respect, intellectual exchange and a shared belief that landscape architecture should respond to the way people inhabit space. Eckbo introduced Burle Marx’s work to an American audience through his influential publications and later welcomed him during his visit to Los Angeles in 1954.
Burle Marx admired Eckbo’s vision of the modern garden as a place where architecture, landscape and everyday life formed a coherent whole. Their correspondence documents an exchange of ideas that helped shape the international dialogue on modern landscape architecture.
“It is especially interesting for me to study work like yours, where you are concerned with creating a place in which Man is identified not only with the landscape, but also situated in his relation with Space.”
— Roberto Burle Marx to Garrett Eckbo, Rio de Janeiro, 18 August 1954.
Lawrence Halprin
A graduate of Harvard's Graduate School of Design, where he studied alongside I. M. Pei and Philip Johnson, Lawrence Halprin began his career working with Thomas Church before establishing his own practice in San Francisco in 1949. He later became one of the leading figures of the second generation of modern American landscape architects.
Following his 1954 visit to the United States, Roberto Burle Marx wrote to Halprin to express his gratitude for the warm welcome he and his wife had extended. Reflecting on their meeting, Burle Marx attributed the immediate bond they had formed to their shared affinity for the arts and mutual understanding.
'Your welcome was so warm that I felt I had known you for many years. I believe that this is due at least in part to our affinity in the arts and our mutual understanding.'
— Roberto Burle Marx to Lawrence Halprin, Rio de Janeiro, 18 August 1954.
'He was an extraordinary man, a marvellous man. He was a genius.'
— Lawrence Halprin
Experience Burle Marx at Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens is home to the only intact garden in North America designed by Roberto Burle Marx. This short documentary offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Cascade Garden and the ongoing conservation of one of his most significant works outside Brazil.
Continuing the Dialogue
Today, the Roberto Burle Marx Foundation continues this international dialogue through collaborations with leading universities, museums, cultural organisations and public institutions across the United States. These partnerships build upon the relationships established by Roberto Burle Marx himself and seek to advance research, conservation, education and international collaboration inspired by his legacy.
Support the Foundation
Help us continue Roberto Burle Marx's international legacy through research, conservation, exhibitions, education and major restoration projects.
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Acknowledgements and Sources
Selected quotations reproduced on this page are taken from Folhas em Movimento: Cartas de Burle Marx.
Additional archival and bibliographical sources will be acknowledged where applicable.
Roberto Burle Marx tending flowers at his home © Burle Marx Landscape Design Studio, Rio de Janeiro.
The photographs used in galleries: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 on this page are © Burle Marx Foundation Archives. All rights reserved.
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