Frank Lloyd Wright's House Beautiful [Hardcover]

Diane Maddex (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2000

This book features the special relationship Wright had with House Beautiful magazine, a relationship that spanned six decades.

In 1897, the year the magazine began, Wright developed his own concept of "The House Beautiful," in a limited edition masterpiece that detailed his theories of the ideal home. More than a century later, this book presents his concepts, alongside stunning photographs depicting the evolution of Wright's "organic architecture" style, including the Prairie style of the early 1900s, the California textile-block houses of the 1920s, his one-of-a-kind expressive designs (such as Fallingwater), and the simple Usonian houses of the 1940s and 1950s--all of which exemplified the Wrightian principles of unity, simplicity, and respect for nature. Also included are suggestions for bringing his ideas into every home, and a catalog of reproductions of Wright items available for purchase.

Frank Lloyd Wright's House Beautiful is not only a treasure for any Wright fan, but a fascinating history of the architect as seen through the magazine that recognized his trailblazing talents from the beginning.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Diane Maddex is the author of 50 Favorite Rooms by Frank Lloyd Wright. She lives in Reston, Virginia.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Hearst Books; First Edition edition (June 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688167365
• ISBN-13: 978-0688167363
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,217,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful look at all aspects of the Wright Design, April 23, 2001

By 

Elizabeth (Tupper, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frank Lloyd Wright's House Beautiful (Hardcover)

As a 13 year old Wright fanatic, i have read books all about different aspects of the Frank Lloyd Wright Design. One book for furniture, one for the house design, one for the glass, one for the Usonian concept. Upon opening this book I didn't expect to find anything different. Concentration in one area. What I actually received was a complete look at the Wright design. Instead of buying seperate books, I could find out all about Wright aspects in this one book! This book is a must have for any fan of Frank Lloyd Wright!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 1/2 is more accurate. I like this book, though I wish there were more., March 31, 2007

By 

Chris bct "music everyday" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

11 1/4" tall x 9 1/4". 176 pages. The book celebrates the long standing relationship between FLW and the magazine House Beautiful. The paper dust jacket has two beautiful photos for the front and back. The hard cover has a FLWish pattern. All the photos are color except one of a person and 4 smaller ones in the Introduction. There's about 60 full page color photos and about 4 of those are both facing pages of one picture. There's 5 pages that have 2 photos that fill the page and another 9 pages that have 3 or mostly 4 photos filling the page. There's 4 photos that fill about over half page and facing page and another one that is that size but of 2 different photos. Most of the excellent photos are interiors.

There's about 10 not large photos of previous House Beautiful magazine articles about FLW buildings opened, something I've never seen in any other FLW big picture book. In the back are 10 pages of FLW designed numerous items of furniture, glass and lamps as well as vases, pillows, two planters, a clock, a toy wood block set, "...reproduction of the learning materials that set Wright on his architectural path as a boy,...", a magazine holder, various fabrics, a tea set and a photo frame. These items are each given a small paragraph description. They are a delightful addition to this type of large FLW photo book. There's about 56 pages of text only.

This is certainly a handsome book and well worth owning. It has many high quality color photos with almost all pages that have photos being filled by photos as opposed to some large FLW photo books that have white paper borders. I love when books take advantage of their size and splash his beautiful work edge to edge on the pages. I suppose the only reason I don't give this a full 5 stars is because I wish it had more pages and it could be even larger though this is a very nice size. Also, I prefer even less text than this book has and even more photos. Still, I would definitely purchase this book and I wouldn't just pay a deep discount price for a used copy. I'd be willing to pay more than that. An excellent addition to any collection of large FLW color photo books.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book by a great author, December 12, 2011

By 

John S. Venning (Livingston, TX) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Frank Lloyd Wright's House Beautiful (Hardcover)

Every one of her architectural books has been accessible and informative, as well as visually delightful.
Highly recommend anything she's written.