Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings in the Midwest and on the East Coast have been well documented, but his work on the West Coast has not received as much attention in print, until now. Author and architectural historian Mark Anthony Wilson offers “Frank Lloyd Wright on the West Coast” (Gibbs Smith, $50.00, Hardcover, 10.75 x 12 in, 224 Pages, 250 Photographs, September 2014, 978-1-4236-3447-8).
Not just a survey of buildings or a coffee table book, the extensively researched volume is reported to feature background information on the clients’ relationships with Wright.
Between 1909 and 1959, Wright designed 36 structures that were built on 28 sites up and down the West Coast from Southern California to Seattle, and 34 of these buildings still stand. They include well-known structures such as the Marin County Civic Center and Hollyhock House in Los Angeles, as well as many lesser known gems, Wilson reports, such as the 1909 Stewart House near Santa Barbara. The comprehensive new book covers these sites, with nearly 200 color photos by veteran architectural photographer Joel Puliatti, and 44 archival images, many reportedly never before seen in print.
Not just a survey of buildings or a coffee table book, the extensively researched volume is reported to feature background information on the clients’ relationships with Wright, including insights gleaned from the original owners’ correspondence with Wright and interviews with them or their decedents. The book also tells the story of Frank Lloyd Wright’s “other women,” his independent-minded and strong-willed female clients on the West Coast who were able to convince Wright to make significant changes in his designs for their homes, something he was loath to do for most other clients. Thus, this book tells the human story behind Wright’s innovative West Coast body of work.
“This authoritative survey of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture on the West Coast is a major contribution to the work of America’s greatest architect. Mark Wilson’s meticulous text, together with Joe Puliatti’s superb photographs, make the buildings come alive, ” says Peter Selz, professor emeritus of modern art at the University of California in Berkeley.
The book is available on Amazon.
