Help the museum acquire a Wright-designed urn

Frank Lloyd Wright, American, (1867-1959), architect Urn, c. 1898-1900 James A Miller and Brother Company, manufacturer Copper 18-5/8 x 16 x 18 in. Museum purchase in progress. The urn is now in a fragmentary state and requires conservation to return it to its original brilliance.

"Returning the Wright-designed copper urn to the site where the architect designed it fulfills our commitment to our visitors to provide them with an authentic experience of our historic site and enriches their understanding of Wright's contribution to the world of architecture and design."

- Barbara Schnitzer, Co-chair, FLWPT Urn Acquisition Fund

In his endeavor to integrate the natural environment with his architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright reinterpreted a common decorative vessel — the vase — and reinvented it in the form of a remarkable urn.

Urn, weedholder and lantern displayed in the octagonal library, Frank Lloyd Wright Studio, Oak Park, c. 1898-1902. Detail of original photo published in Chicago Architectural Club Annual, c. 1902. Collection of FLWPT.

Designed during Wright's years at the Oak Park Studio, the copper urn held native plants and prairie grasses in Wright's own residence and in several of his Prairie style commissions. The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust now has the extraordinary opportunity to acquire a rare Wright-designed urn for public display.

Fewer than 12 urns were originally made and fewer still have survived to this day. The collections of the Dana House, the Minneapolis Museum of Art, the Chicago Historical Society, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London each house a Wright-designed urn. They are all embellished with the same geometric pattern. However, the urn that the Preservation Trust seeks to purchase is the only urn of its design that will be permanently available for viewing in a public collection.

Noted Chicago philanthropist and art collector Seymour Persky serves as honorary chair for the campaign to raise $85,000 to purchase and conserve this rare art object. Thanks to a number of generous donors, $20,000 has been raised to date and the urn is on display in the drafting room of the Oak Park Studio. With your help it will become a permanent exhibit in Wright's studio and be preserved for future generations to experience.

"We have worked all these years to restore the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio for thousands of museum visitors. It is imperative that we strengthen our collections with a rare object such as this one."

- Dr. Terry Light, Co-chair, FLWPT Urn Acquisition Fund

Make a tax-deductible contribution to the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust's Urn Acquisition Fund now and help bring home an exceptional treasure. Select one of the online contributions below or send your check payable to Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust to:

Urn Acquisition Fund
931 Chicago Avenue
Oak Park, IL 60302

We are grateful for contributions in any amount. For more information, please contact
or 708.848.1976.

As a token of our appreciation contributors at the $1000 level and higher will receive a mounted, frame-worthy print of the historical photograph shown in detail above.
 

We greatly appreciate the support of the following contributors:

Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Allen
Mr. & Mrs. Ralph Balgemann
Mrs. Jeanette Fields
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Follett
Mr. Brian Gaffney
Mr. & Mrs. John G. Garofalo
Ms. Leigh Gates
Mrs. Margaret Houck
Ms. Jeanne Mandel
Mr. Robert A. Monk
Mr. Graham Rarity
Ms. Mary T. Small
Ken & Janet Stock
Mr. John G. Thorpe
Tiffany & Company
Ms. Mary Woolever

^ back to top