[1][2] Kubler was born in Hollywood, California, but most of his early education was in Europe.
He received several awards, including three Guggenheim Fellowships, an American Council of Learned Societies Grant-in-Aid for research in Mexico and the Order of the Aztec Eagle by the Mexican Government.
He also was honored with several visiting lectureships and honorary degrees and was appointed the 1985-86 Kress Professor at the Center for Advanced Studies at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
[5] Kubler's major theoretical work, The Shape of Time: Remarks on the History of Things[6] was a major influence on David Summers, Esther Pasztory, Robert Smithson, Donald Judd, Ad Reinhardt, and Robert Morris, among others.
[7] He also had a hand in the definition of "Portuguese plain architecture", naming this architectural period in light of his direct knowledge of a set of plain, simple buildings with almost no ornaments dating from the 16th century.