The Seven Ages of Frank Lloyd Wright: The Creative Process (Paperback)

by Donald W. Hoppen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Former pupil’s intimate, original appraisal, focusing on the evolution and meaning of Wright’s work. Problems and disasters followed by periods of great creativity in which he reinvented his art. Over 200 black-and-white illustrations, including many from Taliesin archives never before published. Bibliography. Complete list of buildings and projects.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (July 14, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 048629420X
• ISBN-13: 978-0486294209
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,591,458 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wright Design, June 12, 2002

By	tertius3 (MI United States) - See all my reviews

A good, revelatory, and brief book, but not as your First Book of Wright. Hoppen focuses on architecture with very little mention of the allied arts (glass, furniture, etc.) for which Wright was also famous. It is the only book organized by the geometric primes or principles at play in Wright's buildings. Although based on a chronological, sequential insight into Wright's development that Englishman Hoppen had while one of Wright's last apprentice-students, the text consists of short vignettes that actually skip back and forth in a way that could confuse (contrast "Years with Frank Lloyd Wright" by another disciple, Edward Tafel). This book might better be called The Seven Principles..., since Hoppen shows that each "Age" (roughly a decade) is aligned with a design principle and each of those has earlier antecedents, extending and layering onto earlier aspects of Wright's work.

The good side of his serendipity is that Hoppen can trace lines of development or renewed inspiration stemming from far earlier projects Wright once drafted. It is written as a paean to human creativity. Hoppen presents many revealing episodes in Wright's life and relates them to his bursts of creativity and innovation. While they ring true, most episodes are unattributed. A tall but thin book with generous margins filled with black-and-white illustrations. Plans are often too small for legibility.

4.0 out of 5 stars illuminating, January 16, 2006

By	A. A. Harvey (Syracuse, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For the would-be-Wright-client and the artist, this book is a revealing and revelatory delving into his creative process---what makes him tick. Facinating.