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Frank Lloyd Wright Lectures

Frank Lloyd Wright

Part One, The Life and Career of Frank Lloyd Wright

Unitarian Meeting House, Madison WI, 1947-51

 

Frank Lloyd Wright is considered by many to be the greatest architect in American history.  His life was filled with great success, personal tragedy, and hundreds of structures still standing today.  This lecture will focus on his early career in Chicago, his passion for Japanese art and culture, the estate Taliesin he developed in Wisconsin, his struggles during the Great Depression, his apprenticeship program, and his most productive decade in the 1950s, when such important buildings as the Marin County Civic Center in California and the Guggenheim Museum in New York were designed and built.

Wednesday, October 4, 2023 | 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.


  •  October 4, 2023
     5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Frank Lloyd Wright

Part Two, Taliesin West, A Unique Design in the Desert

Entry to Private Living Quarters, Taliesin West, 1940

 

After suffering pneumonia in Wisconsin in 1936, Frank Lloyd Wright, at the age of 70, came to Arizona to purchase land to build a new winter home and studio, Taliesin West.  The design is purely about the desert, with the buildings looking like they rise from the ground, constructed with rock and sand gathered from nearby.  This lecture will look in-depth at all of the main structures on the site, including the incredible Cabaret Theater, partially submerged in the ground and nearly perfect acoustically, despite walls of rough concrete.  The property was designated a World Heritage Site in 2019.

Wednesday, October 18, 2023 | 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.


  •  October 18, 2023
     5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Frank Lloyd Wright

Part Three, The Legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright

Bachman-Wilson House, 1954, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art  (photo courtesy of Crystal Bridges Museum, Bentonville, Ark.)

 

This lecture series will  conclude with a discussion of the phenomenal legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright.  The impact of this great architect and his ideas on American architecture today and the way we live is unmistakable.  This lecture will include addressing a remarkably innovative office building built in the early 1900s that was demolished, his designs here in the Phoenix area, which include a house in Arcadia for his son that was nearly torn down, his innovations in building construction, lighting, and the floorplan that forever changed the way Americans live in their homes.  We’ll cover his art and automobile collections, his struggle with money, and more.  This is a lecture you won’t want to miss!

Wednesday, November 1, 2023 | 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.


  •  November 1, 2023
     5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

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