The Headlines
Albert Einstein's Theory of Happiness Has a Wright Connection
The Washington Post reports that a simple note written by Albert Einstein and given to a hotel messenger in 1922 recently fetched $1.3 million at an October 19, 2017 auction. The note, written in German on a piece of Wrightian Imperial Hotel stationary, reads: “A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.” Wise words indeed. Read more.
Wright's "Cloverleaf"
Jim Shulman, in his Baby Boomer Memories, tells us about Frank Lloyd Wright's plans for a Pittsfield, Massachusetts neighborhood that was never built. The famous architect designed a series of homes for Pittsfield's Victory Hill neighborhood to be called "Cloverleaf" based on a unit he built in 1939 in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. The federal government commissioned the plans for the development, which was never built, to provide housing for defense contractors. Learn more.
Team of Professors Joins Effort To Rebuild Banff Pavillon
The Calgary Herald informs us that a group of Frank Lloyd Wright admirers headed by an American filmmaker is one step closer to rebuilding a pavilion in Banff National Park designed by the famous architect and demolished nearly 80 years ago. Wright and Francis Conroy Sullivan, Wright’s only Canadian student, designed the structure on the banks of the Bow River in 1911. Construction finished in 1914 and after years of sheltering tourists and drawing large crowds, the decaying pavilion that had been hit by flooding and frost was demolished in 1939 despite residents’ protests.
The Frank Lloyd Wright Revival Initiative has selected a team of professors from Ryerson University to update Wright’s original Banff National Park Pavilion drawings. Various attempts to rebuild the historic Banff gathering place have occurred since the 1980s and recent revival progress has been made by a group of volunteers led by documentary filmmaker Michael Miner, who since 2002 has devoted his career entirely to the work of Wright. Read more.
Napa Valley Home By Taliesin Apprentice For Sale
A home in Napa Valley, California designed by architect Mark Mills, an apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright, has come on the market for $2.65M. Featuring stunning views of Napa Valley wine country, the 875-square-foot home may only have one bedroom, but its innovative use of wood, glass and stone throughout is harmonious with the nature it's surrounded by. Some of the home's features include a stone patio; a remodeled kitchen; views maximized by floor-to-ceiling glass; a soaring metal double fireplace; and open-beam ceilings. Read more.
2018 Tours For Wright's Auldbrass
For those of us that missed this year's tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Auldbrass Plantation in Yemassee, South Carolina, the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy will be holding an architectural tour from 1-3pm on Saturday, March 10, 2018. The tour is limited to 100 people, and will cost $150, as a donation to the Conservancy. Read more.
NCCC Professor Speaks About Frank Lloyd Wright
The public is invited to attend a presentation on architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s life and legacy through the eyes of Nancy Knechtel, Fine Arts professor at Niagara County Community College (NCCC) at 1pm on November 13, 2017 on the Sanborn, New York campus at 3111 Saunders Settlement Road. Knechtel worked at the University of Buffalo Archives cataloging the Darwin Martin collection and collaborated with Brendan Gill and Jack Quinan on their books on Frank Lloyd Wright. Read more.
Rising From The Ashes
In an article originally appearing in the Spring 2017 issue of the Frank Lloyd Wright Quarterly is an interesting personal reflection on the tragedies of Frank Lloyd Wright by Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation President and CEO Stuart Graff. Read more.
Don't Miss "Footprints on the Desert" Exhibit
Just a reminder: The Arizona Heritage Center, in cooperation with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, has opened “Footprints on the Desert: Frank Lloyd Wright in Arizona,” an exhibit celebrating Frank Lloyd Wright’s life and work in Arizona, and his legacy. Featuring an array of photographs, architectural drawings, and various artifacts from Taliesin and other Wright-designed homes and buildings, the exhibit tells the story of Wright’s arrival in Arizona, his passion for beauty and sustainability in architecture, and provides insight into the man, his vision, his life at Taliesin and his work at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. Throughout the duration of the exhibit, these two groups will feature a series of speakers related to the life and work of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Exhibit admission is $12 for adults; $10 for those 65 and older; $8 for children 7-17. Children 6 and younger are admitted free. Read more.
85th Anniversary Of The Taliesin Fellows
Mark your calendars! The Taliesin Fellows will be holding their 85th anniversary celebration on November 10-12, 2017 in Scottsdale, Arizona and alumni and friends are invited!
Become a member and purchase a ticket to enjoy an extraordinary opportunity to experience four different properties, delicious food, and socialize with old friends and friends you haven't met yet! Read more.
Support Wright Society
October 2017 Explore Wright Issue - Subscribe Today!
Missed the opportunity to subscribe to our special Explore Wright bi-monthly newsletter? If you're not one of our Silver/Gold/Platinum level supporters, you may still subscribe.
View and/or download a free digital copy of a sample issue (Volume 1, Number 1) by clicking here. This complimentary June 2017 issue looks at Wright's Sturges House in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Now our current issue (Volume 1, Number 3) "explores" the influence that the Japanese pavilion at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition (known as the "Ho-o-den") had on Frank Lloyd Wright's developing sense of architecture.
If interested, we provide three types of subscriptions to the bi-monthly Explore Wright newsletter:
[$15] Digital Only Subscription: You’ll receive 6 bi-monthly newsletter issues per year. They'll be delivered via email in a digital PDF format, which you may view on any device.
[$25] Print Only Subscription: You’ll receive 6 bi-monthly newsletter issues per year. They'll be delivered via USPS mail in paper format. We will send it to you anywhere in the world.
[$35] Combo (Digital + Print) Subscription: You’ll receive 6 bi-monthly newsletter issues per year. They'll be delivered in two formats: (1) via email in a digital PDF format, which you may view on any device; (2) via USPS mail in paper format, which we will send to you anywhere in the world.
Note: your purchase goes directly towards supporting the content curation and creation efforts it takes to produce the weekly Wright Society email and the Wright Society Virtual Summit. Thanks!
Email bryan[at]wrightsociety.com if you have any questions.
About
This weekly Wright Society update is brought to you by Eric O'Malley with Bryan and Lisa Kelly from PrairieMod. If you enjoy these free, curated updates—please forward our sign-up page and/or share on Social Media.
If you’d like to submit content to be featured here, please reach out by emailing us at mail[at]wrightsociety.com.