Sibyl Moholy-Nagy (October 29, 1903 – January 8, 1971, ) was the daughter of Werkbund architect Martin Pietzsch and an architectural and art historian. Originally a German citizen, she became the second wife of the Hungarian Bauhaus artist László Moholy-Nagy and accompanied him in his move to the United States. She is the author of one of the most important and influential studies of his work, Moholy-Nagy: Experiment in Totality, plus several other books on architectural history.
Sibyl Pietzsch was born in Dresden on October 29, 1903 to architect Martin Pietsch and Fanny Clauss Pietzsch. After attending the University of Dresden, she became an actress, performing in several films. She eventually became a scriptwriter, and in the late 1920s, met Bauhaus-trained artist and photogpher Laszlo Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946) while working on a film script. The two became very close, and were married in 1932. The had two daughters, Hattula (born 1933), and Claudia (1936-1971). After residing together in Germany for over a year and a half, they left due to the rise of Nazism. In 1934, they settled in Amsterdam, and then London for two years.
In 1937, the family moved again to the United Sates, settling in Chicago. Here Sibyl assisted her husbnd in establishing the New Bauhaus, which opened in October 1937. The School enjoyed a two year run before closure. Sibyl also helped her husband establish the School of Design, also in Chicago, in 1939.
After Laszlo's death in November, 1946, Sibyl decided she would become a teacher. Her first book, a biography on her husband, Moholy-Nagy: Experiment in Totality, established her as an academic. In 1951, she got a job as professor of architecture history at the Pratt Institute in New York City. She taugh courses on such subjects as urban history and design. She reamined at Pratt until her death.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Sibyl enjoyed a fulfilling career as an architecture critic, maintaining professional relationships with such figures as Walter Gropius, and Carlos Raul Villanueva (whom she would undertake an extensive study of his work). She also made numerous contributions to architecture magazines, and was one of the first critics to study Latin American architecture in-depth.
She died in New York City on January 8, 1971.