Frank Lloyd Wright: The Heroic Years: 1920-1932 (Hardcover)

~ Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer (Author)

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Product Description

Frank Lloyd Wright’s wife, Olgivanna, is famously quoted as saying that "My husband seemed to thrive on hardships." From the years 1920 to 1932 Wright’s fortunes were at a low ebb; he was plagued by financial, personal, and professional setbacks, but saw the time as one of challenges instead of one of defeat. Unable to find patrons, his imagination led to visionary, often splendid, architectural conceptions that laid the groundwork for the revolutionary architecture he would build in the decades to follow. During this period he designed almost fifty projects, of which only a few were realized, but those few are seen today as among his most important creations. They include the majestic Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, four exquisite textured concrete block houses in Los Angeles, renovations and additions to his beloved home, Taliesin, in Wisconsin, the Octillo Desert Camp in Chandler, Arizona, and his work as design consultant for the lavish Arizona Biltmore Hotel and Cottages in the desert in Phoenix. Rare and unseen photos as well as little-known drawings from this period are on lavish display in this important work on the master architect.

About the Author

Author Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer is a trustee of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona, and, as director of the archives there, is the curator of its 300,000 correspondence documents and 22,000 drawings, some of which are shown here for the first time. He has been a member of the Taliesin Fellowship for over forty-four years, and is the author and/or editor of over forty books on Frank Lloyd Wright.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli (April 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847831744
• ISBN-13: 978-0847831746
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 10.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #325,016 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Turbulent Years, More Likely, June 16, 2009

By	Sacramento Book Review "SacramentoBookReview.com" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

Frank Lloyd Wright's genius at architecture didn't always leave him with plenty of commissions, money, and a stable personal life. The years between 1920 and 1930 had very few actual commissions that were complete, but were extremely productive and creative years for Wright. This timeframe was also a turbulent time for Wright personally, with two divorces and marriages, the birth of his daughter Iovanna, and a fire in his home Taliesin II (Taliesin I was also destroyed in a fire), that destroyed the living quarters. Though this time, Wright maintained his creativity and kept designing projects, many of which weren't ever made, but laid groundwork for his later work. One project that was designed and completed in the 1920s was Graycliff, a precursor to Falling Water, which blended into the property and used local materials. Wright designed almost 50 projects and, of those that saw completion, the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo and the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, are both considered some of his most important work.

Pfeiffer is the director of archives at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. As such, he has unprecedented access to the hundreds of thousands of documents and drawings. One would think that after writing or editing 40 books on Wright, he might run dry on new ideas, but, by focusing this book on this particular period, he is able to shed new light on Wright's personal life through previously unpublished correspondence and how this very difficult time laid the groundwork for his extremely productive following decades.