A HOUSE IN THE HILLS

Michael Govan and Katherine Ross searched for years for the right house. What they found was an architectural marvel and a blank canvas.

- By Dodie Kazanjian. Photographed by Alec Soth.

ROOTED Govan, the director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and his wife, Ross (in Prada), a communications adviser and consultant, at their 1958 Ray Kappehome. Sittings Editor: Rebecca Ramsey.

Michael Govan and Katherine Ross are sitting at the dining table of their almost-finished house in the Baldwin Hills section of Los Angeles. Designed in 1958 by the mid-century California architect Ray Kappe, it's perched on a hillside, like a bird in flight, and its floor-to-ceiling windows overlook a significant swath of the city, from the Getty to the Hollywood sign to the soon-to-open Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

There's still no running water or kitchen appliances. They stayed up most of the night hanging art, including a work by their neighbor, Todd Gray, that they had asked to borrow the day before. “In most neighborhoods you might borrow a cup of milk if you're just moving in—but in Los Angeles, you can be sure there's an artist who might have an artwork to lend,” Govan says. They've just arranged their furniture, which arrived that afternoon, including a digital baby grand player piano, which they both plan to learn to play. It's the first time the two have actually paused to enjoy their spectacular view.

A view is a must wherever Govan and Ross live, whether it's their place in Amagansett (the dunes) or their mobile home in Malibu's Point Dume area (the ocean and mountains) or here. “We always have a view,” Govan says, “always—small house, big view.” Ross adds: “When we first saw the house, we came at sunset, straight from the airport, and both of us knew this was it.”