A Guide to the Lilia Sofer Skala Student Portfolio, 1915-1920, 2003, n.d.
A Collection in
Special Collections
Collection Number
Ms2003-015
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Special Collections, Virginia Tech
©2004 By Virginia Tech. All rights reserved.
Processed by: Jennifer Meehan, Special Collections


Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Collection is open to research.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish material from the Lilia Sofer Skala
Student Portfolio must be
obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collections should include the following information:
Lilia Sofer Skala
Student Portfolio, Ms2003-015 - Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and State University.
Acquisition Information
The Lilia Sofer Skala
Student Portfolio was donated to the International Archive of Women
in Architecture in 2002. Additional materials were donated in 2004 and 2013.
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Lilia Sofer Skala
Student Portfolio
took place from March to July 2004. The finding aid was updated March 2011to reflect the
addition of the translated articles. The finding aid was updated July 2013 to include
Acc2013-062.
Biographical/Historical Information
Lilia Sofer Skala
was born in Vienna, Austria in 1896. She earned a degree in architecture
from the University of Dresden and became the first female member of the Austrian
Association of Engineers and Architects, practicing architecture.
Skala
became a successful stage and film actress in Europe before fleeing the Nazis with
her husband and two sons. Among the personal belongings with which she escaped was her
portfolio of student work from the University of Dresden.
Skala
immigrated to the United States in 1939 and eventually found success as an actress on
Broadway and in television and film. She was nominated for an Academy Award in 1963 for her
role as Mother Maria in Lilies of the Field .
Scope and Content
The collection primarily consists of Lilia Sofer Skala's
work as a student of architecture
at the University of Dresden from 1915 to 1920. The student work includes architectural
drawings, ink and charcoal sketches, and watercolor paintings. The collection also consists
of biographical information including copies of
Skala's
academic records, printed material
about the architectural program at the University of Dresden at the turn of the century,
articles by and about
Skala
, and press material for LiLiA! ,
a play about
Skala
written and performed by her grandaughter, Libby
Skala
.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into two series of Drawings and Biographical Information.
Index Terms
- International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA)
- Women -- History
- Photographs
- Watercolors (paintings)
Subjects:
Genre and Form Terms:
Contents List
- Folder oversize: 1
Construction drawings, various projects (9 drawings), 1915-1917
- Folder oversize: 2
Engineering and construction drawings, various projects (10 drawings), 1915-1916
- Folder oversize: 3Folder oversize: 11Folder oversize: 12
Charcoal sketches (13 original drawings and 1 photographic print), 1915-1917, n.d.
- Folder oversize: 4
Construction drawings, various projects (12 drawings), 1917-1920, n.d.
- Folder oversize: 5
Construction drawings, Fauilieupeusiau (7 drawings), 1918-1919
- Folder oversize: 6
Drawings and watercolor, Putz Salon (Rauwkruist Prof. Hogg) (4 drawings), 1919-1920
- Folder oversize: 7
Construction drawings, Das Palais Einer Furstin (13 drawings), 1920
- Box-Folder 1 folder: 8
Thesis, Building Specifications for Das Palais Einer Furstin, 1920
- Folder oversize: 8
Construction drawings (unfinished), De Taig (7 drawings), n.d.
- Folder oversize: 9
Pencil and watercolor sketches, Furniture for a Contest (5 drawings), n.d.
- Folder oversize: 10
Watercolor renderings (8 drawings), 1919-1920, n.d.
- Folder oversize: 11
Ink sketches (2 drawings), n.d.
- Box-Folder 1 folder: 9
Includes copies of academic records, copy of newspaper article about Skala
, printed
material containing information about the architectural program at the University of
Dresden, articles by and about
Skala
(translated into English), and press material for
Libby
Skala's play, LiLiA!