Issue 283 December 8th 2021

The Headlines

Frank Lloyd Wright's Impact On Glass Sculptor Dale Chihuly

Frank Lloyd Wright created designs, work, and environments to foster creativity that influenced artists of all mediums. One such person is world-renowned glass artist and sculptor, Dale Chihuly.

Internationally known contemporary artist Dale Chihuly answers questions on how the great architect influences his work, from childhood to today in this article in The Whirling Arrow. Click here to read this inspiring story.

You can see Chihuly’s and Wright’s work in one place, complimenting architecture with glass sculptures in nature, during Chihuly in the Desert, running from December 3, 2021 – June 19, 2022.

Wright’s “Laurent House” in Rockford Open For Tours

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Laurent House in Rockford, Illinois will be open for groups to tour on Saturdays, Dec. 11 and 18. The house will be decorated with the Laurents’ personal collection of ornaments, as well as many mid-century Christmas decorations.

Each tour will end with holiday refreshments of Swedish Christmas cookies and a hot cocoa bar at the Visitor Center. The Gift Shop also will be open for holiday shopping.

The Laurent House is a rare, one owner, hemicycle Usonian home, complete with original Wright designed furnishings and lighting. Opened as a public museum in 2014, the house was considered by Wright to be one of his 38 most important works, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Illinois Wright Trail. It was listed as one of the state’s Top 20 architectural Great Places in 2018.

The cost is $25 for adults, $5 for older children ages 8-18. Advanced reservations are required. For an interesting article about the Laurent House click here.

You can also catch some photographic glimpses of this "little gem" of a house by going to Mark Hertzberg's Wright in Racine blog, where he documented a recent visit. See more here.

Chicago Murals: Thomas Melvin Pays Homage To Louis Sullivan With Murals In Fulton Market

Pioneering Chicago architect Louis Sullivan is renowned for his work during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, designing buildings including the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Dr., and the former Carson Pirie Scott department store building at 9 E. Madison St., now known as the Sullivan Center.

Chicago muralist Thomas Melvin is paying homage to Sullivan in two murals he created for a development in Fulton Market. In one of Melvin’s two untitled murals, at 205 N. Peoria St. next to the Fulton East building, he offers a glimpse of the Chicago skyline through an eye-shaped lens. Melvin says that was inspired by the Sullivan Center and that the aim was to give the effect of seeing the city through the renowned architect’s eyes.

The design incorporates greenery, paying tribute to nature and, according to Melvin, giving another nod to Sullivan, whose work often drew on the connection between architecture and growth. Melvin, 69, who lives in Albany Park, did another new mural nearby. It features larger-than-life ivy vines that appear to be crawling up the west side of the building at 220 N. Green St.

Both murals, painted in 2020, were commissioned by Bob Wislow, chairman and chief executive officer of Parkside Realty, who developed the 12-story Fulton East building, 215 N. Peoria St. More here.

What We Can Learn Inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s Forgotten House

When the empty-nesters Nick and Angela Hayes downsized and began restoring the newly rediscovered Elizabeth Murphy House in Shorewood, WI — one of the last completed American System-Built Home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright — they began to unearth clues that revealed a fiasco. Hayes’ new book "Frank Lloyd Wright's Forgotten House: How an Omission Transformed the Architect's Legacy" (University of Wisconsin Press) tells of their restoration and of a cover up.

Hayes will take viewers on a remote tour using photographs, plans and video of the Elizabeth Murphy House, a 103-year-old 960-square-foot cottage designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, highlighting its Wrightian features and flaws and describing the work he and his wife have done to restore and preserve the historic home. The presentation will feature many of the architect’s drawings, describe the tiny home's dramatic life, and leave ample time for questions and answers.

The virtual event and webinar is hosted by Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center and sponsored by Wright in Wisconsin. It will be held at 1 p.m. CT on Dec. 15. Register here: https://mononaterrace.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Sz7soI8zQ1ir1aHb1QgFVg

Frank Lloyd Wright Celebrated At Kirkland Museum Of Fine & Decorative Art

Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art in Denver, CO celebrates the genius of Frank Lloyd Wright with a calendar full of exhibitions, lectures, and tours in 2022.

“Along with two original windows, multiple Frank Lloyd Wright pieces are found in Kirkland Museum’s permanent collection,” explains Associate Museum Director Renée Albiston. “We can’t wait to share these intriguing examples of Wright’s work in a cohesive exhibition accompanied by a variety of programming that includes exciting lectures with internationally renowned experts and other visitor engagement opportunities throughout the year.”

Of special note, the Kirkland Museum announces the repatriation of two original windows from the Museum’s collection to their original context in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House (built 1903–1905) in Buffalo, NY. Currently on display near the east entrance of Kirkland Museum, the “light screens,” as the architect called them, will return to the Martin House in 2022. View Frank Lloyd Wright’s original windows at Kirkland Museum until mid-April 2022.

For the calendar full of exhibitions, lectures and tours in 2022, click here.

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