Customer Reviews

Frank Lloyd Wright The Houses

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book will send Wright fans into a tizzy, it's that wonderful. The authors have assembled a collection of the complete Frank Lloyd Wright houses that remain (a sadly dwindling number), and the Weintraub photographs are simply amazing. There are some good essays but the photographs are really the heart of the book.

The images are immense (the book feels like 300 lbs on your lap) and stunning. It is after all the experience of the physical visit to see the spatial and visual detail of Wright's houses that is so exciting, and these photographs are a great substitute for a visit. They are very palpable. They have a keen sense in demonstrating the interplay of natural light within the Wright interiors and a good sense for the dynamic qualities of his spaces.

For someone familiar with Wright's more obscure houses by looking at little grainy black and white images, these photos are simply a revelation.

An essential book for any fan of Wright's architecture.

I honestly do not know how many Wright books I have(40-50?). There are better photos of one house like Fallingwater in specific books devoted to one house, but that being said, this is the best book of photos of Wright Houses, particularly Usonian houses that I have ever seen. It is simply stunning. Even the site photographs are magnificent. When you compare the houses that have been moved from their original site(Pope-Leighy, Gordon)to those that have not it makes the genius of Wright even more amazing.

If you are a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright, do not miss this!!

If you have already read the other reviews you know how good this book is. I wish they had this available when I first started getting interested in Frank Lloyd Wright back in college. All they had then were the dingy, dark, older pictures that really didn't convey just how great some of Mr. Wright's houses were. These new pictures really show how much genius he had in design. What is even more apparant when you see some of these new pictures is just how much mastery he had for setting up a home with natural light. Simply put, if you have the money and are even a casual fan, you should just treat yourself and get the book.

This book has more plusses than minuses, but it is organized in an odd way and many of the pictures are less than perfect. Ironically, for a coffee table picture book, its essays are its most outstanding feature. Alan Hess provides an introduction to each chapter, but his overview and comparisons among the houses of each period would greatly benefit from moving some of the pictures from the back into the text itself. Each chapter ends with a guest essay, all of which are very insightful, but most of which do not really limit themselves to the chapter just covered. While the reader can overcome these problems by flipping back and forth in the book, that is not easy given its great heft!

The pictures pose a number of issues. Most of the interior shots are in the same golden hue, suggesting the use of the same filter or of a specific kind of lighting. Some pictures focus on so limited an area that, for instance, a gorgeous stained glass ceiling is omitted. Others are of relatively mundane bedrooms and bathrooms. Pictures are included of additions to the houses by Wright apprentices, while really interesting Wright-designed features of some houses are not pictured at all. An example of this is the omission of any photo of the marvelous kitchen in a cairn in the Hagan House. Finally, numerous exterior shots were taken when the facades were in shadow.

The photographer can certainly do better than this, as demonstrated in the book he did with the author on John Lautner. And Rizzoli can as well for Wright, as demonstrated in Masterworks.

This is a necessary book for all who study architecture. Why? Because the photography conveys something close to the reality of Mr. Wright's works, especially so when it comes to the interiors.

When I was studying architecture in college in the 1970s, the BEST photography books about Wright's oeuvre were "In the Nature of Materials" and the very expensive Wendingen Edition. Both are presented in black and white and while that kind of pared-down quality may have suited the age in which the International Style was still in its ascendancy, it did nothing whatsoever to convey the true sense of a Wright space--specifically interior space. The intimately human scale of these spaces was missed.

And color is so much a part of Wright's aesthetic, and without it, one is in dreary Kansas instead of Oz.

Living in the northeast, it was not possible to see many Wright buildings first hand, until that trip to Chicago... and then what a revelation! These spaces were not cold grays but marvels of ochres and greens and wood tones and conveyed so much more serenity than those older photos could suggest.

Happily, future years placed me in conjunction with many of the Midwestern buildings, and a day trip could take me to Wisconsin or Michigan or other less-frequently visited residential and commercial works by F L W. Friendships with original Wright clients or owners of Wright houses opened other doors--I have experienced about one third of the places in this book, so--trust me--the photos do them justice and are almost as good as being there.

I would guess that anyone who has been in these places will tell you that this book gives a very fine representation of these spaces. And thankfully, more and more of these spaces are open on a regular or annual basis for the student or admirer of Wright to visit. Some residences are even now B&Bs. Wow!

The fine articles that accompany the photographs are also most helpful and enjoyable.

If you find this review helpful you might want to read some of my other reviews, including those on subjects ranging from biography to architecture, as well as religion and fiction.

Hands down the best picture book on Wright's houses to date. This book combines the quality photographs
with the large size needed to show them to their best advantage. Great photography meets great architecture
and it's the next best thing to being there. The essays provide a scholarly complement to the beauty on display here.

The only negative and a relatively minor point. The claim is made that every extant Wright house is pictured.
Not quite. Many are only pictured as thumbnail sized photos in an overview section at the rear of the book.
Even at that a handful are not pictured at all.

Don't let this small criticism stop you. This is the one we've been waiting for.

I think this is not only a beautiful book but an excellent reference source for anyone who is interested in F. L. Wright's dynamic works. I have just one complaint: why did they NOT identify the front and back inside cover photographs of the Lykes House in Phoenix--everything else was carefully listed in the credits. If one didn't know, he/she would have to dig through the entire book to find which house was important enough to show so prominently but not enough for credits where other houses with just one picture were listed. This is indeed an omission that should be corrected on later editions.

Wonderful pictures of his houses that I fully enjoyed. I also appreciated the chronological presentation of the photos so I could see the growth and development of his style myself, rather than just read about it. The text seems unimportant by comparison. I was somewhat disappointed that there were not more interior photos, but overall, well worth the investment.

This book was a wonderful eye opener. It will appeal to the reader for crisp pictures in beautiful settings and landscapes as well as the various style phases Wright went through architecturally. For Wright aficionados, there is a detailed, but not too intense history of his style, works and personal history as he changes design elememts during his career. Grand interior shots only enhance the overall attraction. The book will add diversity to anyone's collection.

This is a lovely coffee table book with mostly spectacular color photos of most of Wrights houses, including many interior shots. There is not much historical information but this is covered in other books.