Inspiration in Words

Nancy Horan's wonderful use of words in Loving Frank create spot on mental snapshots of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture. I am about half way through the book and awoke up this morning with an urge to delve into photographs of Wright's signature prairie style architecture.

Frederick C. Robie House

The story centers around the love affair between Frank Lloyd Wright and one of his clients, Mamah Borthwick Cheney in the early 1900's.

 

Mamah Borthwick Cheney circa 1910

Frank Lloyd Wright circa 1909

One of the first descriptions that really resonated with me was in the opening diary entry of Mamah describing her visit to the Heurtley house with her husband.

 When I first saw it, the Huertlys' house looked like a heavy rectangular box to me. Once inside, though, I felt my lungs expand. It was all open space, with one room flowing into the next. Unpainted beams and woodwork the color of tree trunks gleamed softly, and the most glorious light poured through the green and red stained-glass windows. It felt sacred inside, like a woodland chapel.

Wright's Home and Studio

Architectural images above from the Frank Llyod Wright Preservation Trust


Wright's Millard House

Architectural images above from the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy

Wright's Words of Wisdom:

"Why, I just shake the buildings out of my sleeves." 

"Less is only more where more is no good."

"TV is chewing gum for the eyes."

"The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen."

"Nature is my manifestation of God. I go to nature every day for inspiration in the day's work. I follow in building the principles which nature has used in its domain."

. . .