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Architectural Elements
Wright's desire to create
a harmonious, unified architectural scheme including site, building
and interior led him to design a variety of interior furnishings and
elements. The architect incorporated this light fixture into a number
of early architectural commissions, including the Coonley, Robie, and
Meyer May houses. This example is from Wright's remodeling of his Oak
Park home and studio in 1911. When lit, the pattern on the top of the
bronze fixture casts a shadow of geometric design on the adjacent wall
and ceiling.
In late 1897, Frank Lloyd Wright designed and patented a series of prism lights and plates for the American Luxfer Prism Company. The company was founded by a group of Chicago men, including two of Wright’s early clients, William H. Winslow and Edward C. Waller. Luxfer prisms were created to increase the amount of natural light that could be directed into a room and were used most often in industrial buildings. The prisms were set into the upper registers of window openings and arranged 5 to 15 units high and 20 units wide. Luxfer prism plates redirected light into an interior by refracting the light further into a room and opening up the space. A Luxfer prism is a 4 in. square sheet of glass with prism on the
interior side about 3/16 in. thick, with a 1/8 in. projection. The
exterior
side of the plate is usually flat. The prism lights in the FLWPT
collection, patented on October 4, 1897, are comprised of a design
based on a flower
composed of circles and squares, and lavender in color. The prisms
Wright designed for the American Luxfer Prism Company were a source
of additional income for him at the same time that they allowed him
the opportunity to experiment with new ideas and building materials.
Louis Sullivan was commissioned by Chicago entrepreneur Stanley R. McCormick to design the cast iron ornamental façade of the northernmost building of the Gage Group. The three-building complex, completed in 1899 and located on South Michigan Avenue in Chicago, was designed by the architectural firm of Holabird and Roche. This fragment is from the lowest level of the façade and features
a floral motif throughout with scroll work in the corners. The entire
façade was executed in ornamental iron at the base with brown
terra cotta above. The fragment is a fine example of the nature-inspired
architectural ornament so characteristic of Sullivan’s work in
Chicago. Architectural Representations
The Robert G. Emmond residence is a transitional work designed prior to the formation of Wright's mature Prairie style. With octagonal shaped bays and strong rectilinear forms, the Emmond House bears witness to Wright's search for an original architectural language based on geometric forms. Considered one of the 'bootleg' commissions, the Robert
G. Emmond residence was designed by Wright while he was employed by
the architectural firm of Adler and Sullivan. In violation of his employment
contract with the firm, Wright took on a number of his own residential
commissions to earn additional income to support his growing family.
This plate of the Robie House is from a two-volume portfolio of unbound lithographic prints of architectural drawings, renderings and plans of Wright’s early work. When the portfolio was published in Germany in 1910, it represented a virtual compendium of the most significant architectural designs created by Wright during the first twenty years of his architectural career. The Robie House was prominently featured in the portfolio with two
plates, this one showing the south elevation and third floor plan and
a second plate featuring the ground and main floor plans. Designed
by Wright in 1908, the Robie House exemplifies all the characteristics
of a Prairie style building, along with a streamlined simplification
of forms that would result in the building being called by Wright “a
cornerstone of modern architecture” and being acknowledged by
the European modernists as a major influence on the course of twentieth-century
architecture. Japanese Arts
The Japanese artist used the forms of the natural world as a primary source of inspiration. Motifs such as butterflies, cherry blossoms, chrysanthemums and bamboo were frequently used to adorn ceramics, textiles and other decorative objects. This Japanese stencil with a cut-out bamboo pattern was acquired by Wright during his first trip to Japan in 1905. Japanese paper stencils, or katagami, functioned similarly to printing blocks. The design was transferred onto fabric prior to dyeing. Wright was an important collector of Japanese prints and decorative
objects. Although it was not customary to collect Japanese stencils,
as these objects were considered tools rather than artistic works
in their own right, it may have been the strong graphic quality of
the stencils as well as the motifs drawn from nature which appealed
to Wright’s design sensibility.
A kesa is a traditional robe worn over a Buddhist priest’s kimono. Made by sewing patches of remnant or new material together, the kesa is a religious garment that makes symbolic reference to Buddha’s divesting himself of material possessions. The kesa seen here was acquired by Wright during his first trip to
Japan in 1905 and subsequently displayed in the Oak Park Home as
a decorative accent throw. It is made of a number of patches arranged
in five horizontal rows with stylized floral designs sewn into the
material in golden thread to add further decorative interest. Scholars
believe that Wright purchased this textile and a number of others
from
Mr. Nomura, an antique dealer in Kyoto, Japan, famous for his antique
textiles in particular Decorative Arts
Wright's concept of organic architecture led him to design furnishings
for the interiors of his buildings. Wright designed this vase to hold
dried prairie grasses. It demonstrates the beauty of simple, minimally
adorned, natural materials. The vase was fabricated by the James A.
Miller and Brother Company of Chicago. Wright praised Miller for an “intelligent
pride in his material” and stated that as a result of this collaboration
he “fell in love with sheet copper.”
In his desire to bring nature indoors, Wright designed several objects to contain native plants and prairie grasses. Made of hand-hammered sheet copper, Wright's design for the urn reinterpreted a common decorative vessel - the vase - and reinvented the form in an entirely new way. The copper urn has a warm brown "leathery" finish and a design that lends itself to the geometric interiors that Wright created. Wright designed two urns with a slight modification in the geometric pattern that encircles the urn. Fewer than twelve urns altogether are believed to have been manufactured by James A. Miller and Brother Company for use in the interiors of several of Wright's Prairie style commissions. This object is the newest addition to the Preservation Trust's
collections. Funds are currently being
raised to purchase the object
from the family of an early Wright client. Fine Art
This signed painting was prominently displayed in the living room of Frank Lloyd Wright's Oak Park home. Wright's choice of a pure landscape painting fits with his desire to integrate the natural world into his architectural interiors. The painting is framed in a gilded double frame constructed of quarter-sawn oak. The frame with its dentil detailing is believed to have been designed by Wright while he was in the employ of Louis Sullivan, circa 1890. Wendt began his full-time career as an artist in Chicago in the
1890s. After 1906, Wendt moved to California and established himself
as one of Southern California's most accomplished landscape painters.
Period photographs taken by Frank Lloyd Wright reveal that the architect had a lithographic copy of Thawing Ice by Norwegian artist Fritz Thaulow hanging in the original dining room of his Oak Park home. The original is a pastel on paper work which measures 21-7/8" x 37-3/8". The subject is a winter scene that Thaulow painted while living at a farm in Baerum, near Oslo, Norway in the spring of 1887. Thaulow painted many versions of this scene during that spring and produced additional versions in the years following 1887. One such version was exhibited at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. It seems that this subject became something of a signature work for Thaulow. It may have been Wright's employment with the firm of Adler and
Sullivan and their design of the Transportation Building (1891-1893)
for the World's Columbian Exposition that brought him into contact
with Thaulow's work. Furniture
Wright's love of native woods
can be seen in his use of material for this oak chair. He borrowed the
Arts and Crafts ideals of high quality design and the use of local materials,
but chose machine production over traditional hand-workmanship to create
the clean, geometric design of this chair.
Wright's dining room addition of 1895 featured tall-back side chairs that would become the seminal designs for his renowned Prairie style dining room furniture ensembles. The architect designed a set of eight chairs and a child's high chair to match the quarter-sawn oak table for his growing family. The wide crest rail and slender vertical spindles combine to provide a portrait frame for the seated person's head at the same time that they serve to create a visually unified and intimate dining space. Originally these chairs had straight back legs and spiral spindles.
Historical documents and evidence obtained during conservation treatment
reveal that the chairs were remade sometime around 1903. At that
time, the spiral spindles were replaced with the square spindles characteristic
of the geometric vocabulary of Wright's Prairie style period.
These were the first of many designs for tall-back dining room chairs
that Wright would create for numerous clients during his early career.
Adapted from a gateleg table type, Wright designed this piece for a very specific purpose - to view and display Japanese prints. The print table top could lie completely flat, or the front half could lie flat with the back turned up like an easel. Both positions aid in the viewing of Japanese prints. Wright's interest in designing efficient, functional furniture can be seen in this unique design. Wright was an avid admirer
of Japanese art and an early collector of Japanese prints. He used this
table in his Oak Park studio to display his own collection of Japanese
prints and he included print tables in his commissions for other early
clients, such as Susan Lawrence Dana. Personal Effects
This sentimental portrait of Catherine Tobin Wright, her six children and a neighbor child depicts the Wright family in an outdoor garden setting. Maginel Wright Barney, younger sister of Frank Lloyd Wright, has portrayed the family in a loose idealized style where background scenery, likenesses and drapery are suggested rather than sharply detailed or delineated. This treatment is representative of the artist's work as a successful illustrator of children's books and popular magazines including The Ladies' Home Journal, Woman's Home Companion and Woman's World.
This wooden drafting brush with pig bristles and a long curved handle
is believed to have been used by Frank Lloyd Wright early in his career
while he was designing many of his most famous Prairie style buildings.
It is a typical drafting tool commonly used at the turn of the century,
made special by the fact that the architect’s initials “FLW” are
scratched into the bottom side of the handle end.
Frank Lloyd Wright owned this brass musical cigarette box with a green enameled top. Made of machined brass with holders for individual cigarettes, the box plays a waltz, Tales from the Vienna Woods by Johann Strauss, Jr., when opened. A photograph dating from the 1920s shows Wright holding a cigarette. The cigarette case is believed to date to this period of Wright’s life. |
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