Frank
Lloyd Wright's Birthday Today
" A doctor can bury his mistakes but an architect can only advise
his clients to plant vines."
Frank Lloyd Wright was born on June 8, 1867 in Richland Center, Wisconsin. He was 67 years old when the Kaufmanns gave him the commission for a new vacation home. Although he had created a new form for American houses – the prairie house – and had earned an international reputation as one of the leading modern architects of the day, in 1934 Wright was seen by the architectural community as being out of touch with the times. He had built only a couple of houses since 1920, and instead was concentrating his efforts on his autobiography, establishing the Taliesin Fellowship, and developing his model urban plan, "Broadacre City."
During a trip to Taliesin to visit their son, Edgar and Liliane Kaufmann met Frank Lloyd Wright and his wife Olgivanna, beginning what was to be one of history's great patron/artist relationships. Wright's vision and magnetism made an immediate appeal to the Kaufmanns, whose active interest in the arts had been tending towards ever less traditional manifestations. A civic leader deeply concerned with the future of Pittsburgh, Kaufmann had already contacted Wright about possible improvements for the city. While at Taliesin, Kaufmann was so impressed with Wright's Broadacre City project that he eventually gave it substantial financial backing, and later showcased it in his downtown store. He convinced Wright to make a trip to Pittsburgh in December to discuss the city projects, and the possibility of designing a new store office for him. At his son's suggestion, Edgar Sr. took Wright to Bear Run and approached him with the idea of designing a new weekend home for the family.
Pictured today is Frank Lloyd Wright (center) flanked by Edgar Kaufmann jr. (left) and Edgar Kaufmann Sr. (right) taken at Taliesin West, by Taliesin apprentice Pedro Guerrero.
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