Collection on Frank Lloyd Wright

Collection on Frank Lloyd Wright

Collection Overview

Repository:
Guggenheim Archives
Title:
Collection on Frank Lloyd Wright
Identification:
A0021
Dates:
1938-2005 (bulk 1953-1993)
Quantity:
1.2 cubic ft. (1 box)
Abstract:
Frank Lloyd Wright (FLW), 1867-1959, was commissioned to design a new space to house Solomon R. Guggenheim's Museum of Non-Objective Painting in 1943. Despite FLW's reluctance to build in New York City, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum was to become one of his most famous building projects. The new museum building was opened to the public on October 21, 1959. FLW died shortly before the opening.
Abstract:
The Collection on Frank Lloyd Wright (FLW) covers the years 1938-2005 (bulk 1953-1993) and documents FLW's life, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (SRGM) building, and other FLW architectural projects. The collection includes: press releases; magazine articles; newsletters; newspaper clippings; photographs; project plans; correspondence; invitations; brochures; postcards; and publications. The bulk of the collection is comprised of newspaper clippings and magazine articles relating to FLW and SRGM.
Location:
OS, CF
Language:
Collection is primarily in English.
Arrangement:
Organized into 2 series: 1. Biographical and Background and 2. Architectural Projects.
Restrictions:
The collection is unrestricted.
Publication Rights:
Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Manager of the Library and Archives.
Preferred Citation:
Collection on Frank Lloyd Wright. A0021. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Archives, New York, NY.
Subjects:
Arizona State College at Flagstaff.
Arizona State University.
Fallingwater (Pa.).
Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.
Imperial Hotel (Tokyo, Japan).
Museum architecture.
Taliesin (Spring Green, Wis.).
Taliesin East (Spring Green, Wis.).
Taliesin West (Scottsdale, Ariz.).
Usonian houses.
Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959.
Related Materials:
Frank Lloyd Wright correspondence. A0006. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Archives, New York, NY.Building History collection. A0065. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Archives, New York, NY.

Historical Note

Frank Lloyd Wright (FLW) was born June 8, 1867 in Richland Center, Wisconsin to William Cary Wright and Anna Lloyd Jones Wright. FLW had five siblings. When his father left the family in 1885, FLW supported the family by working as a draftsman in the civil engineering office of Spring Green. Because his boss was the dean of the engineering school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, FLW was able to enroll in the school without a high school diploma. Without graduating, he moved to Chicago to pursue his architecture career and was eventually positioned with Adler & Sullivan architects.

In 1894, FLW opened his own architectural firm in Oak Park and mainly designed homes for his neighbors. It was there that he developed his famous prairie style home. During his career he also created public buildings, including the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Japan which he worked on from 1915 to 1920. He created additional buildings in California, Wisconsin, and Arizona through his career. Other major architectural projects include: Taliesin, Taliesin II, and Taliesin III, Spring Green, WI, 1911-25; Fallingwater (Kaufmann House), Bear Run, PA, 1935; Taliesin West, Paradise Valley, AZ, 1938; and Dallas Theatre Centre, Dallas, TX, 1955.

In June 1943, Frank Lloyd Wright was asked to design a new space to house Solomon R. Guggenheim's Museum of Non-Objective Painting. Despite being reluctant to build in New York City, FLW agreed to design the museum. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (SRGM) is one of FLW's most famous and controversial building projects. It was a project in modernist architecture that included a spiral motif, FLW's interpretation of a Mesopotamian ziggurat. The SRGM was opened to the public on October 21, 1959. FLW died shortly before the museum's opening on April 9, 1959.

Bibliography

"Frank Lloyd Wright." Authors and Artists for Young Adults, Volume 33. Gale Group, 2000. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007."Frank Lloyd Wright." Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2007. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.

Scope and Content Note

The Collection on Frank Lloyd Wright (FLW) covers the years 1938-2005 (bulk 1953-1993) and documents FLW's life and work, particularly as they relate to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (SRGM). This collection was complied by SRGM staff from 1953 to 2002 and consists largely of secondary materials. The collection includes: press releases; magazine articles; newsletters; newspaper clippings; photographs; project plans; correspondence; invitations; brochures; postcards; and publications. The collection mainly consists of newspaper clippings and magazine articles relating to Frank Lloyd Wright and SRGM. The collection is arranged in two series: Series 1. Biographical and Background and Series 2. Architectural Projects. Series 1. Biographical and Background contains information about Frank Lloyd Wright's life and background on his professional career. Series 2. Architectural Projects includes information on architectural projects designed by FLW other than the SRGM project. Records relating to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Building designed by FLW can be found in the Building History collection.

Series Descriptions

Series 1. Biographical and Background, 1942-1996 (bulk 1953-1990), 0.75 cubic ft.
Summary: Series 1. Biographical and Background contains information about Frank Lloyd Wright's (FLW) life and general information on his professional career. The series includes: announcements; brochures; Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation documents; invitations; newspaper clippings and magazine articles; press releases; publications; and stamps. The bulk of the series consists of newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and general publications on FLW. Also included is information on the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, including correspondence and funding information. The series also contains "Wright Angles," a newsletter of the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio Foundation on various architectural topics. It is important to note that a copy of the last will and testament of FLW is included here.
Arrangement: Alphabetical
Series 2. Architectural Projects, 1938-2002 (bulk 1953-1992), 0.5 cubic ft.
Summary: Series 2. Architectural Projects includes information on architectural projects designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (FLW) other than the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum project. The articles, publications, and brochures contain interviews with FLW as well as criticism of his architectural projects. Some of these projects include: Fallingwater, FLW's furniture and window designs, Taliesin West, the S.C. Johnson Administration Building, and the Imperial Hotel.
Arrangement: Alphabetical

Folder List

Series 1. Biographical and Background, 1942-1996 (bulk 1953-1990), 0.75 cubic ft.
BoxFolderTitleDate
1005061Announcement: the Decorative Designs of Frank Lloyd Wright at the National Collection of Fine Arts1977
1005062Bibliographiesundated
1005063Biography by Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum1959
Brochures
1005064Autobiography: Frank Lloyd Wright: Order Formundated
1005065Catalogue: Forty-Seven Frank Lloyd Wright: Ephemera for a Living Collection1980
1005066Chapel of the Holy Cross: Designed by Marguerite Brunswig Staude, Pupil of Frank Lloyd Wrightundated
1005067Frank Lloyd Wright: Facets of Design1990
1005068Frank Lloyd Wright Architect: Museum of Modern Art1994
1005069Frank Lloyd Wright and Eric Mendelsohn1976
10050688IX Mostra Di Architettura1976
10050610The Future of Architecture: Order Formundated
Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation
10050611General1990-1991
10050612The Drawings of Frank Lloyd Wright for the Benefit of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation1985
10050613Exhibition and Sales for the Preservation of Taliesin1983
Invitations
10050614The Decorative Designs1978
10050615Frank Lloyd Wright: Art in Design1983
10050616The Frank Lloyd Wright Collection of Oriental Paint Brushes1978
10050617The Frank Lloyd Wright I Knew1986
10050618Wright Again1980
10050619Last Will and Testament of Frank Lloyd Wright1956
Newsletters
10050620FLW Quarterly1996
10050621Wright Angles1976-1983
Newspaper Clippings and Magazine Articles
10050622-37General (16 folders)undated, 1950-1996
10050638"Form Givers" and "Four Great Makers"1961
Obituaries: Frank Lloyd Wright
10050639-40Foreign (2 folders)1959
10050641-43United States (3 folders)1959
10050644Photograph: Frank Lloyd Wrightundated
Press Releases
10050645Decorative Designs of Frank Lloyd Wright to Go on View Next Spring at Museum of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts1990
10050646Lecturers on Giants of American Architecture1976
10050647Statement by Harry F. Guggenheim on Death of Frank Lloyd Wright1959
10050648Two Hundred and Fifty Original Drawings by Frank Lloyd Wright on View at the Museum of Modern Art1962
10050649Program Description: Uncommon Places on Public Televisionundated
Series 2. Architectural Projects, 1938-2002 (bulk 1953-1992), 0.5 cubic ft.
BoxFolderTitleDate
10050650Announcement: A Rare Opportunity to Purchase a Usonian House1979
Brochures
10050651Crimson Beachundated
10050652Exhibition of Works by Frank Lloyd Wright1981
10050653Fallingwater Tours1969
10050654Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater1969
10050655Oak Parkundated
10050656Taliesin Westundated
10050657The Work of Frank Lloyd Wright: Midland Art Association1959
Invitations
10050658Invitation to Wuppertal1966
10050659Arizona State College Preview of the Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright1966
10050660Frank Lloyd Wright Windows from the Darwin D. Martin House, Buffalo, N.Y.1970
10050661Windows by Frank Lloyd Wright1969
10050662Museum Assessment Program: Fallingwater1984
10050663-69Newspaper Clippings and Magazine Articles (7 folders)undated, 1953-1992
10050670Postcard: Taliesin West1971
Photographs
10050671Francis Little Houseundated
10050672Imperial Hotelundated
10050673S.C. Johnson Administration Building1938
10050674Melvyn Maxwell Smith House1948
10050675Unitarian Church1947
10050676Unidentifiedundated
Press Releases
10050677The Decorative Designs of Frank Lloyd Wright1979
10050678Frank Lloyd Wright at the Renwick Gallery1977, 1986
10050679Frank Lloyd Wright Furniture and Designs Featured at the Grey Art Gallery1978
10050680Japanese Wood Blocks from Frank Lloyd Wright Collection1970
10050681Living Room Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and Exhibition Projects of Wright Material to Open in the Metropolitan Museum's American Wing1982
10050682"Orion Book News on the Works of Frank Lloyd Wright": Announcement of Publication1978
Publications
10050683"The Decorative Designs of Frank Lloyd Wright" by David A. Hanks1978
10050684"The Frank Lloyd Wright Collection" by Richard Daviesundated
10050685"Frank Lloyd Wright: The Library from the Francis W. Little House"1978
10050686"Guide to Chicago and Midwestern Architecture"1963
10050687"Work of Frank Lloyd Wright" (AIA Monthly Newsletter)1959