February - September, 2010

THE COMMON PATTERN

A 2010 house concert series in the Chicago area and southwestern Wisconsin featuring five Frank Lloyd Wright-designed homes and one designed by his mentor, Louis Sullivan.

“The striving for entity, oneness in diversity,   depth in design, repose in the final expression of the whole—all these are the common pattern between architect and musician.”

– Frank Lloyd Wright

The dates and venues are:

1. ‣February 14, Glore House (Lake Forest, IL)
   

2. We start with love songs sung by baritone Ben Copeland and then settle in to hear Sebastian Huydts, composer and pianist extraordinaire, play some of his exciting contemporary music. Only 45 tickets available to hear wonderful music in this dramatically sited and well restored 1951 home. Complimentary champagne and valentine treat served. SOLD OUT
   

3. ($80 per person, $65 tax deductible)
   

4. 
   

5. ‣March 14, Lamp House (Madison WI)
   

6. Built in 1903 for Wright’s boyhood friend, Robert M. (Robie) Lamp, the house was sited to enable him to view both Lake Mendota and Lake Monona. The concert celebrates Saint Patrick’s day and will include complimentary irish brew. Hear Chelcy Bowles, Irish harpist, and friends. Only 40 tickets available. SOLD OUT
   

7. ($55 per person, $40 tax deductible)
   

8. 
   

9. ‣April 18, Avery Coonley House (Riverside, IL)
   

10. The Avery Coonley house (1907) has been meticulously restored to its original splendor by the current owners. Mr. Wright said he had “put his best” into this house. The highly regarded Highland Park String Trio will give us their fabulous best. Then the owners will lead a tour of the estate, including its terraced gardens and pool. Only 50 tickets available. SOLD OUT
    

11. ($80 per person, $65 tax deductible)
    

12. 
    

13. ‣June 20, Gilmore House (Madison, WI)
    

14. Built in 1908, this airy, beautiful house is located in the University Heights neighborhood and Sffectionately known as the “airplane house.” it’s the location for our fourth concert. the Shumi String Quartet has a classical treat in store as does the homeowner, who will serve complimentary champagne and early summer treats. Only 40 tickets.
    

15. ($55 per person, $40 tax deductible) SOLD OUT
    

16. 
    

17. ‣July 18, Bradley House (Madison, WI)
    

18. Designed by Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright’s mentor, this spacious home was built in 1908 and spectacularly restored after a disastrous 1972 fire. Hear the authority on country music, Bill Malone,* and his ensemble including his wife Bobbi, as they play, sing and share history and lore. enjoy summertime treats. SOLD OUT
    

19. ($55 per person, $40 tax deductible)
    

20. 
    

21. * Bill Malone is an historian specializing in country music and other forms of traditional American music. He is the author of the 1968 book "Country Music USA", the first definitive academic history of country music.[1] Malone is Professor Emeritus at Tulane University and now resides in Madison, WI, where he is currently writing a biography of Mike Seeger.[2] In addition to his writing, Malone hosts a weekly radio show on WORT community radio, and performs with his wife, Bobbie Malone.
    

22. 
    

23. ‣September 19, Taliesin (Spring Green, WI)
    

24. Built in 1911 and reconceived by the master after two fires and almost annually thereafter as a laboratory for his work. Taliesin touches the heart and mind as it blends landscape and structure. Hear famous pianist Christopher Taylor with Stephanie Jutt on flute play in the Hillside Theatre following a reception in the soaring living room at Taliesin and formal dinner in the Hillside dining room. SOLD OUT– Waiting List Only
    

25. ($195 per person, $145 tax deductible)
    

26. 
    

27. A multi-course moveable feast served in three special locations at Taliesin, Wright’s home and studio in Spring Green, Wisconsin, will be a highlight of this final concert in the “Wright and Music” series held this year at various Midwest locations. “This will be an event to remember,” said Sandra Shane-DuBow, a member of Taliesin Table, a volunteer group that supports the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. “Renowned chef and former restaurateur Odess Piper is working with two chefs from the Madison Club—Executive Chef Dan Fox and Chef de Cuisine Jason Veal—and with the Taliesin chef, Dan O’Brien. They will work with ingredients drawn primarily from the Taliesin garden and orchards and from nearby Otter Creek Farm.” The evening begins at 6 p.m. with a canapés reception in the soaring living room at Taliesin. Dinner will follow at the nearby Hillside School on the Taliesin estate. Dessert will be served during the intermission of a concert by pianist Christopher Taylor and flutist Stephanie Jutt. Taylor, a pianist, has worked with the National Symphony, municipal symphonies, and philharmonic orchestras in New York, Los Angeles, and Buffalo. Jutt is the principal flutist of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and co-founder of the Madison-based Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society.
    

Concerts begin at 2 p.m. except Taliesin, which begins at 6 p.m.

Phone in your order to:

(866) 530-7528 ext. 481

or

Download, complete, print, and mail the order form with your check to:

Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation

Attn: Kathy Kaats

P.O. Box 4430, Scottsdale, AZ 85261-4430

All proceeds will be directed to the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture for faculty enhancement, except the Taliesin concert, whose proceeds will be directed toward restoring and preserving Taliesin’s musical instruments, which Mr. Wright believed were integral to the school.

The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, founded in 1932 as the Taliesin Fellowship by Frank and Olgivanna Lloyd Wright, is fully accredited and offers undergraduate and professional graduate degrees in architecture. The School operates seasonally between Taliesin West in Arizona and Taliesin in Wisconsin.

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT FOUNDATION AND KARASTAN COLLABORATE ON RESTORATION OF FAMOUS TALIESIN WEST LIVING ROOM

(SCOTTSDALE, AZ – April 19, 2010) – Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous ‘Garden Room’ at his desert masterpiece, Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona recently received a facelift, thanks to the support of leading American floor covering manufacturer, Karastan, whose relationship with Wright dates back more than fifty years.

In 1955, Frank Lloyd Wright and Walter Guinan, then Vice President of Fieldcrest Mills, manufacturer of Karastan products at the time, announced a line of carpet designs by Wright in the November issue of House Beautiful. Fifty-five years later, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and Karastan are collaborating again, this time as part of an effort to restore the showpiece living room at Taliesin West, which Wright referred to as the Garden Room.

While the 1955 collaboration did not come to fruition, it did prompt Doug Volker, director of licensing and product development, to contact Karastan once more, in hopes that the company would want to finally make the would-be partnership from more than five decades before a reality.  “We selected Karastan not only because of the historical connection from the 1950’s near-miss business venture, but because Karastan carpet most clearly matched the historic photos we were looking to replicate,” said Volker.

Karastan, based in Dalton, Georgia, supplied the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation with nearly 1,500 square feet of carpet to assist the Foundation in its efforts to restore the living room and adjacent dining cove of Wright’s winter residence to its 1955 splendor. . After receiving the product in January, the Foundation engaged the services of Glendale, Arizona-based Binding Pros to cut and bind it into five separate rugs, and install the rugs in the original layout.

”In light of our storied association with Frank Lloyd Wright, and the ongoing regard Karastan has for his defining impact on architecture and design, we’re honored to have the opportunity to play a role in restoring Taliesin West to its former glory,” said Connie Berry, director of marketing at Karastan. “We hope and expect that the carpet will endure much in the way Frank Lloyd Wright’s work has: as a symbol of timeless American style.”

The dramatic Taliesin West living room was the social gathering place for Wright and the many famous guests he entertained. It is entered through a typically Wrightian low-ceilinged, stone-walled space which opens to a 56-feet long by 34-feet wide room, linked to the garden and bedroom wing on the east by expansive windows.

Regarded as the most influential American architect of the 20th century, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) is best known for his ability to organically unite people, buildings, and nature. His innovative designs are continually referenced in contemporary architecture. Taliesin West, Wright’s winter “camp” in Scottsdale, Arizona, is set on nearly 550 acres of land located in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains. Original construction began in the winter of 1937-38 and was completed by 1940, but Wright continued to make modifications until his death in 1959. Today, nearly 100,000 visitors tour Taliesin West each year, and the world-famous Living Room is one of the main attractions.

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT FOUNDATION SECURES

HISTORIC COLLECTION OF WRIGHT MATERIALS AT AUCTION

Wright’s Own Foundation Wins Bid to Preserve Legacy:

Adds Historically Significant Material to Vast Archives at Taliesin West

In an aggressive move that underscores its serious archival mission, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation (FLLWF) won an important historic collection of more than 1,000 photographs, drawings and other documents by and about the great American architect at auction this weekend. The FLLWF, working with the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, acquired the “Henry-Russell Hitchcock FLLW Collection” at auction on Sunday at Bonhams and Butterfields in Los Angeles for $48,800.

The FLLWF was founded in 1940 by Frank Lloyd Wright to be the repository of his life’s work. Housed at Taliesin West in Scottsdale, the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives is believed to be the largest collection of material related to single artist under one roof anywhere in the world. The collection includes over 22,000 architectural drawings, 30,000 historic photographs, and 100,000 pages of correspondence in addition to Wright designed furniture and decorative objects and the architect’s personal art and rare book collections.

A key mission of the FLLWF is to preserve the works, ideas and innovative spirit of Frank Lloyd Wright for the benefit of all generations. For this reason, with the support of private donors, FLLWF was able to acquire the important collection. The collection was assembled for publication in a book Hitchcock and Wright co-authored (In the Nature of Materials: The Buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright 1887-1941) and contains more than 600 photographs of Wright’s buildings and interiors; 300 photographic reproductions of drawings and plans; letters signed by Wright; plans and perspectives by Wright and images from Wright’s own photographic collection.

A task force was created to raise funds by the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy in collaboration with the FLLWF.  The organization, which facilitates the preservation and maintenance of the remaining structures designed by Wright, was responsible for alerting other potentially interested institutions and parties of its goal to purchase the collection for the Archives. 

“The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation is the ideal home for Henry-Russell Hitchcock’s historical materials; it’s where they belong,” said Daniel Marquardt, Chairman of the Foundation Board of Trustees. “This priceless asset complements our vast archives in helping convey Wright’s world view. We are delighted that this addition will be preserved and maintained by the Foundation, where it can be studied by scholars and researchers for generations to come.”

The collection assembled by Hitchcock and Wright for this book was used to create an exceptionally rich documentation of Wright’s career. According to experts, this book was originally intended to be an ex post facto catalogue of the 1940 MoMA exhibition “Frank Lloyd Wright: American Architect” – described by the man himself as “the show to end all shows.”

“Henry-Russell Hitchcock’s book was an important assessment of Frank Lloyd Wright’s substantial career by one of the leading architectural historians of the 20th century,” said David Mohney, Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Board of Trustees Member and Professor & Dean Emeritus College of Design, University of Kentucky. “This significant collection belongs in the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation’s archives as part of the organization’s mission to preserve his legacy and celebrate his vision.”