Issue 444  January 1st 2025

Janna Ireland Exhibit Opens For Hollyhock House’s 100th

Commissioned on the occasion of Hollyhock House’s centennial, “Janna Ireland: Even by Proxy” presents twenty-one photographs by the artist that introduce new perspectives on Los Angeles’ only World Heritage site. The exhibit opens Jan. 16.

Ireland’s photographs privilege the quiet, subtle details of Hollyhock House and make visible the care and conservation that sustain the site over time.

The title of the exhibition comes from Frank Lloyd Wright’s autobiography, in which he describes the process of realizing Hollyhock House. For Ireland, Wright’s phrase “even by proxy” points to the fraught relationship between client and architect in building the house as well as the ongoing project of preservation.

“I regard the story of Hollyhock House, and how it came to be in spite of the often contentious relationship between heiress Aline Barnsdall and architect Frank Lloyd Wright, as one of the great L.A. stories,” Ireland said. “It is a tale of ego and conflicting ambitions, as so many of the best stories are. My photographs are about light and shadow, wood and concrete, and the labor involved in preserving Wright and Barnsdall’s complicated project for future generations.”

“At the site’s centennial, Janna Ireland beautifully documents the landmark structure, showing signs of life, scars and activity along with striking interplay of light and shadow,” said Abbey Chamberlain Brach, Hollyhock House director and curator. “This commission builds a rich photographic legacy for Hollyhock House, including work by Margrethe Mather, Edmund Teske and Julius Shulman, and here Ireland reframes the storied site, capturing its continued resonances into the 21st century.”

Even by Proxy is presented in partnership with Project Restore and the Julius Shulman Institute at Woodbury University. Janna Ireland is the 2024 recipient of the Julius Shulman Institute Excellence in Photography Award, which is presented to a photographer who honors Shulman’s legacy by challenging the way we look at physical space.

Click for more details: beverlypress.com  

The Best Historic Homes To Book For A Getaway

Galerie highlights some of the best historic homes that offer unique getaways. One standout is the Two Rivers house, designed by famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright in Wisconsin. Known for its stunning design and connection to nature, this house sits on a bluff overlooking two rivers. It’s a perfect spot for architecture lovers and those looking for a peaceful retreat. The house’s clean lines, natural materials, and beautiful surroundings make it a memorable place to visit, combining history with modern comfort.

Other homes on the list include a variety of historical estates, each offering a glimpse into the past with their own unique charm. Whether it’s a grand mansion or a cozy cottage, these homes provide a chance to experience the beauty of design and history in a way that’s both relaxing and inspiring.

Click for more details: galeriemagazine.com  

How To Rent The Frank Lloyd Wright-Designed Seth Peterson Cottage

One of the least known — and the most petite among all of Frank Lloyd Wright's structures — just might offer the most intimate experience for casual visitors and super-fans alike. The Seth Peterson Cottage, located within Mirror Lake State Park, clocks in at just 880 square feet.

And though it may be small, it's one of the best examples of Wright's Usonian houses, a style design intended for middle-class families that offered practical, affordable, yet still beautiful homes. But what makes the Seth Peterson Cottage even more unique among Wright’s works is that it was the first — and now one of the few — homes that are available as a vacation rental.

“Serene and energetic, the little cottage perched high above Mirror Lake is muscularly geometric, seeming at once to hug the earth and burst forth from it,” the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation says on its site.

The one-bedroom cottage sits on a wooded hill, flanked by a small wall made of local sandstone, and features some of Wright's signature trademarks such as picture windows, a cantilevered roof, and a large, centrally located chimney.

“The flagstones used to pave the outside terrace continue inside the building as the cottage floor, manifesting Wright’s philosophy of making little distinction between the outside and inside worlds in which we live,” the Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy says on its site.

The home was commissioned by Peterson, who was a huge fan of Wright. He applied to join Wright's Taliesin Fellowship (an architectural school founded by the architect and his wife, Olgivanna) but was rejected. Then, he tried to commission Wright to build a home for him several times but was also denied. Finally, Peterson sent $1,000 to Wright (who promptly spent the money) as a retainer — and having burned through the cash, Wright had no choice but to accept the commission. Unfortunately, Peterson did not have enough financial reserves to complete the project and even tried to keep construction costs down by doing some of the work himself.

The building was still in progress at the time of Wright's 1959 death, and Peterson died by suicide shortly before it was completed in 1960. And though the State of Wisconsin bought the property six years later, it sat abandoned for several years. In 1989, local volunteers formed the Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy to restore the architectural gem — and to rent it out.

Over the course of its existence, the tiny home has hosted more than 10,000 guests from around the globe. The cottage sleeps two people and is equipped with an additional fold-out couch for another two guests. There’s also a galley kitchen stocked with all the essentials, and, if you prefer to dine al fresco, there's an outdoor barbecue area with a grill.

The cottage's quiet location is perfect for taking in the pastoral Wisconsin countryside — after all, Wright hoped that his designs would inspire residents and visitors alike to feel more connected with their natural surroundings. A canoe, paddles, and life preserves are included with the rental, as is a healthy supply of firewood. Popular activities in the area include hiking, biking, boating, fishing, swimming, and golfing. If you visit in the winter, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing opportunities are plentiful.

Cottage rentals go for $325 per night year-round, with an additional $30 handling fee per reservation. There's a two-night minimum, and reservations can be made through Sand County Vacation Rentals up to two years in advance, though they book up quickly.

But for those who would prefer to simply stop for a visit, the Seth Peterson Cottage is open for tours the first Sunday of every month from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., with the final tour beginning at 3:30 p.m. Tours cost $5 per person, though children 12 and under can get in for free.

Click for more details: travelandleisure.com  

New Book Explores Japanese Influences on American Architecture

The impact of Japanese culture on the leading American architect Frank Lloyd Wright is the focus of University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Architecture Professor Kevin Nute’s new book Frank Lloyd Wright and Japan Revisited: Traditional Japanese Culture as a Means to Modern American Architecture (London: World Scientific, 2025).

The book’s predecessor, Frank Lloyd Wright and Japan (London: Chapman and Hall, 1993), won an International Architectural Monograph Award from the American Institute of Architects. The new book expands on more than three decades of research by reexamining Wright’s interpretations of traditional Japanese forms in the context of otherness, appropriation, translation and myth.

In his foreword to the new work, the contemporary Japanese architect Kengo Kuma writes:

“This book has played an important part in the ongoing cultural exchange between Japan and the West. Personally, I learned a great deal about this exchange and its significance from the original edition of Frank Lloyd Wright and Japan. It stimulated my own interest in traditional Japanese buildings and gave me renewed confidence in my culture. Until then, traditional Japanese architecture seemed to me to have little relevance to the present or future. My own buildings changed as a result, and I began to participate in that great exchange myself.”

An internationally recognized authority on Wright’s relationship with Japan, Professor Nute spent his early career in Japan and joined UH in 2019. Later this year he will be giving a series of public lectures on the work, including at the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust in Chicago and at the Fallingwater Institute in Pennsylvania, where he will also be a scholar in residence next year.

Click for more details: hawaii.edu