Sibyl Moholy-Nagy (born Dorothea Maria Pauline Alice Sybille Pietzsch;[1] October 29, 1903 – January 8, 1971) was an architectural and art historian.

Originally a German citizen, she accompanied her second husband, the Hungarian Bauhaus artist László Moholy-Nagy, in his move to the United States.

After her death in 1971, fellow writer Reyner Banham eulogized her as "the most formidable of the group of lady-critics (Jane Jacobs, Ada Louise Huxtable, etc) who kept the U.S. architectural establishment continually on the run during the 50s and 60s".

As the youngest daughter in a family of four, her parents believed in a privileged Bilden education, prioritizing a humanitarian focus on classics, an idea popular among Dresden bourgeois.

[4] There she met the former Bauhaus professor, artist, and photographer László Moholy-Nagy (1895–1946) who was trying to get support for what would become his most famous film, A Lightplay black white gray.

[3] Although she lacked formal credentials, her deep knowledge of architectural history allowed her to secure successive teaching positions in Chicago, Peoria, San Francisco, and Berkeley.

[6] In 1951, Moholy-Nagy was hired as associate professor of architecture history at Pratt Institute in New York City on the recommendation of Jose Luis Sert.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Moholy-Nagy had a parallel career as an architecture critic, maintaining professional relationships with such figures as Philip Johnson and Carlos Raul Villanueva.

[3] One of her most important books, Matrix of Man: An Illustrated History of Urban Environment (1968), focused on the development of cities and the influence of landscape, regional climate, tradition, culture, and form.

[citation needed]Her professional relationship with Carlos Raul Villanueva and the opportunity to explore South America through the lens of vernacular architecture, a particular point of focus for her, led to considerable engagement with the continent.

The lethal harvest was functionalism, and the Johnnies who spread the appleseed were the Bauhaus masters Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, and Marcel Breuer.However, Moholy-Nagy’s work was not always received as she intended.

In Matrix of Man, critics raised concerns about the lack of discussion regarding the practical application of Moholy-Nagy’s ideas in urban planning.

[13] Through her dual role as a custodian of his legacy and a provider for her family, Sibyl demonstrated a multifaceted dedication to preserving the impact of Moholy-Nagy's contributions to the world of art and design.