Modernist architect Gene Summers started his illustrious career in 1950 working with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Directly involved with landmark structures such as the Farnsworth House, Seagramb uilding and the National Gallery of Berlin, Summers earned a reputation as Mies’ right hand man. Hired upon completion of the graduate program at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Summers worked with Mies for sixteen years.

In 1967 Summers became a partner at C.F. Murphy Associates where he completed the McCormick Center of Chicago and Kemper Arena in Kansas City among many other remarkable buildings. In 1973, Summers relocated to California where he partnered with Phyllis Lambert whom he had met during construction of the Seagram building. Together, he and Lambert designed, developed, restored and renovated properties and buildings, most notably the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles for which they collaborated with the artist Jim Dine.