In 1938, Gertrud and Otto Natzler were forced to flee their home in Vienna, Austria, after the country fell to Nazi Germany.
The couple's escape took them some 6,000 miles away to the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles. There, they found a "traditional house" tucked into what was then known as a rural area on the outskirts of the city.
As soon as they settled, the Natzlers had one thing in mind: "They immediately wanted to set up shop and start doing their ceramics," according to real estate agent Barry Gray.
Indeed, the pair was more than just husband and wife. They also collaborated on their ceramic art — Gertrud throwing distinctive, thin silhouettes and Otto using his own formula to glaze each piece.
Now, for the first time since it was purchased in 1938, the Natzlers' home — including their various studios and tile works — is on the market.
The three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom residence spans just shy of 2,300 square feet, according to a listing on Homes.com. It's asking $2.465 million, in line with the average home value in the area.
Gray, an agent with Compass, holds the listing.
A quirky work-live property in the Hollywood Hills
By the time Gertrud passed away in 1971, the Natzlers had established a renowned collection of pieces numbering in the thousands. Today, the pair's work has been honored by the Smithsonian Institution, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among others.
Otto didn't give up his art after his wife passed away, though. There were still thousands of pieces of work that hadn't yet been glazed.
In 1973, he married a photographer and together, the duo continued the Natzler legacy with Otto glazing and his new wife, Gail Reynolds Natzler, photographing the work.
To accommodate this work, Otto Natzler commissioned a two-story, Austrian chalet-inspired addition to the home that included a ceramics studio and dark room in 1988.
Even some 40 years later, that studio addition offers a rare glimpse into the life of influential artists, according to Gray.
"The original ceramic studio above the garage still feels very original. When you walk in there, it's like, it's like you're stepping back in time," he told Homes.com in an interview.
For example, the ceramics studio still has Otto Natzler's pipe, work gloves and pieces of art in it.
"You still get a really good feeling of their life there," Gray added.
The home is suited for an artist — but there are other possibilities
Unlike other notable properties in the Los Angeles area, the appeal of the Natzler residence isn't its design so much as it is its history, according to Gray.
"To be honest with you, it doesn't have a great architectural pedigree," he said. "It's not a Neutra. It's not a Schindler house. But the story is interesting."
More than that, the property is nearly 90 years old and hasn't traded hands in almost as many, so there's "some upgrading that needs to happen," Gray said, noting that nothing is insurmountable.
All that said, Gray foresees the property going to an owner-user, likely an artist similar to the Natzlers.
"The spaces are quirky and interesting," he said. "It's an artist's haven."