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Frank Lloyd Wright: Complete Works, Vol. 1, 1885-1916
The definitive publication on America’s greatest architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) is widely considered to be the greatest American architect of all time; indeed, his work virtually ushered in the modern era and remains highly influential today. His wide-ranging and paradigm-shifting oeuvre is the subject of TASCHEN's three-volume monograph that covers all of his designs (numbering approximately 1100), both realized and unrealized. Made in cooperation with the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives in Taliesin, Arizona, this collection leaves no stone unturned in examining and paying tribute to Wright's life and work. From his early Prairie Houses (typified by the Robie House) to the Usonian concept home and progressive "living architecture" buildings to late projects like the spiral Guggenheim Museum in New York and the development of his fantastic vision of a better tomorrow via his concept of the "living city," all of the phases of Wright's career are painstakingly described and illustrated herein. Author and preeminent Wright expert Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer highlights the latest research and gives fresh insight into the work, providing new dating for many of the plans and houses. A plethora of personal photos gives readers a feeling of what it was like to work in Frank Lloyd Wright's fellowship, traveling each spring from Taliesin West to the old Taliesin complex in Wisconsin and returning the next fall to spend the winter in sunny Arizona again. This volume, Volume 1, covers the early Chicago years and the Prairie Houses, the period which provoked a profound influence on European architects. Wright's architectural work during these early years was mostly residential, as it would be throughout his career, and from his earliest work, Frank Lloyd Wright demonstrated a knowledge of and respect for natural materials. In the ten years betweeen 1896 and 1906 he developed and perfected the so-called "prairie house." Wright believed the architect should have complete charge of architectural design, and for him this meant interior furnishings as well as exterior landscape. He was not often given this freedom, but the 1908 Avery Coonley residence in Riverside, Illinois is one of the finest examples. With the administration building for the Larkin Soap Company (1903–1905) and the Unity Temple (1905) he could realize bigger commissions. In 1910 he worked on his famous publication "Ausgeführte Bauten und Entwürfe" for the German publisher Wasmuth, which brought his ideas to a worldwide recognition. The personal tragedy of 1914 brought a shadow over his successful, but struggled life: A servant at Taliesin had set fire to the residence and murdered his mistress Mamah, her two children, a draftsman, and three workmen. But this could not stop Wright on his permanent search for a new architecture.
- GenresArchitecture
525 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2010
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December 18, 2024
As I often do with books like these, I looked at every page but read almost nothing except an occasional caption and a bit of the final page about Wright's drawings. (My wife who scoffed at me when I placed the three books on our dining room table, actually paged through also but read much more of the text than I did.)
The three books are an amazingly complete collection of Mr. Wright's work. They are also overwhelming in their page after page of drawings and photos and text (at least half of which is in German) as well as their size and weight. They are each 16" by 12.5" and 2 inches thick. They each weigh almost 14 pounds. (The circulation people at my library were also a bit overwhelmed by them and I only expected a single volume; carrying all three out to my car was a challenge.)
Wright's designs are in chronological order. Each is identified by some classification number without significance to me, the name of the person or company for whom he was designing, occasionally a name for the building, the location where the building was intended to be built, the date, and finally the word "Project" if the plan was never acted upon and no building erected. (It is stunning how many of his designs never came to fruition.) In the earlier books the fate of a building was also mentioned, as many of them burned down or were demolished.
If you know Wright's work and unique, signature style you'll find little here that is new other than the amazing breadth of his endeavors, the sheer volume of his prolific production. Again and again there are "Projects" which might have drawings pictorially representing his vision for the building and usually some blueprint-like schematics for the layouts. I didn't bother to look closely at most of these unless they were the elaborate, sprawling and sweeping illustrations of places of worship, community centers, amusement centers, city centers, even skyscapers. (A few are even depictions of a night view of a lit-up building.) But the actual designs that did get built usually have photographs of the finished building, often a home. The more elaborate the home, usually due to its size and scope and the natural landscape upon which it sits, the more photos.
I often preferred the drawings, in a soft palette of water colors with plants hanging from every outside ledge or balcony, which made the building look romantic. The early photos are in black and white and were a disappointing manifestation of the imagined house, and always looked smaller. But real is real.
In these books you'll see lots of wide, low homes with extensive overhanging eaves. Lots of horizontal lines and angled roofs sometimes with spiky peaks. Some of the more elaborate designs have circular porches that look like landed spaceships from the 50's or like something from a Frank Frazetta illustration.
The inside photos of the later homes are in color and have a similar vibe: always a fireplace, a rug, lots of wood and stone and brick, with natural light pouring in, often from windows up high on the wall, and some subdued lighting reflecting off the ceiling. There are usually a few plants and always a bunch of books on shelves.
If you are mildly curious about Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural work, you might find more concise books with more pictures. But if you are a serious fan or completist, check these out. They are from Taschen publishing and are beautiful combinations of art and infomation.
The three books are an amazingly complete collection of Mr. Wright's work. They are also overwhelming in their page after page of drawings and photos and text (at least half of which is in German) as well as their size and weight. They are each 16" by 12.5" and 2 inches thick. They each weigh almost 14 pounds. (The circulation people at my library were also a bit overwhelmed by them and I only expected a single volume; carrying all three out to my car was a challenge.)
Wright's designs are in chronological order. Each is identified by some classification number without significance to me, the name of the person or company for whom he was designing, occasionally a name for the building, the location where the building was intended to be built, the date, and finally the word "Project" if the plan was never acted upon and no building erected. (It is stunning how many of his designs never came to fruition.) In the earlier books the fate of a building was also mentioned, as many of them burned down or were demolished.
If you know Wright's work and unique, signature style you'll find little here that is new other than the amazing breadth of his endeavors, the sheer volume of his prolific production. Again and again there are "Projects" which might have drawings pictorially representing his vision for the building and usually some blueprint-like schematics for the layouts. I didn't bother to look closely at most of these unless they were the elaborate, sprawling and sweeping illustrations of places of worship, community centers, amusement centers, city centers, even skyscapers. (A few are even depictions of a night view of a lit-up building.) But the actual designs that did get built usually have photographs of the finished building, often a home. The more elaborate the home, usually due to its size and scope and the natural landscape upon which it sits, the more photos.
I often preferred the drawings, in a soft palette of water colors with plants hanging from every outside ledge or balcony, which made the building look romantic. The early photos are in black and white and were a disappointing manifestation of the imagined house, and always looked smaller. But real is real.
In these books you'll see lots of wide, low homes with extensive overhanging eaves. Lots of horizontal lines and angled roofs sometimes with spiky peaks. Some of the more elaborate designs have circular porches that look like landed spaceships from the 50's or like something from a Frank Frazetta illustration.
The inside photos of the later homes are in color and have a similar vibe: always a fireplace, a rug, lots of wood and stone and brick, with natural light pouring in, often from windows up high on the wall, and some subdued lighting reflecting off the ceiling. There are usually a few plants and always a bunch of books on shelves.
If you are mildly curious about Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural work, you might find more concise books with more pictures. But if you are a serious fan or completist, check these out. They are from Taschen publishing and are beautiful combinations of art and infomation.
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